When We Were Young
by teamWilson
Summary: 17yr old House thinks he rules this highschool but Headmaster's daughter Lisa Cuddy likes to tell him otherwise. His best friend Wilson is reluctantly along for the ride while new kid Chase is too busy drooling over Cameron to care. And whats up with 13?
1. On Foreign Soil

**When We Were Young**

**Summary: Meet the whole gang, back when they were 17 and in high school. Cuddy's father is the headmaster, Chase is the new kid, and Greg House seems to have the entire school wired, but how? Whole cast included, no pairings (yet).**

**Chapter 1: On Foreign Soil**

_A/N: Well, a few things I feel I should tell you; 1) This is my first House fic so am new to writing this fandom but I assure you I feel I know the characters pretty well. 2) Although this story follows the crew when they were younger, it is still set in current time and they are all roughly the same age. And 3) I'm Canadian and know next to nothing about the United States educational system so this school is mostly just made up from my own imagination, what tv has taught me, and a few facts from Wikipedia about a private school in Princeton New Jersey. So with that in mind, please take any references to the school with a grain of salt ;) Oh, and enjoy!_

It was a slightly warmer than usual September morning in the township of Princeton New Jersey and Mrs. Alderman; a resident of the town for several decades; still found it necessary that her Yorkshire terrier Stewart wear his argyle sweater that she had knitted for him several years prior as she walked him down the crowded street on this early Monday morning.

"Come on now Stewart" she lightly begged as she tugged on the leash to no avail. The dog barked incessantly at the bustling herds of children walking on their way to school; all of which ignored the woman and her dog as they hurried past her.

Mrs. Alderman, although completely harmless, was infamous around town for being quite the chatterbox. Being a widow for several years now and not having any children or even family of her own, the first day of school was always an exciting one for her. She would take Stewart on an early walk in hopes of interacting with some of the neighbourhood children as they made their way to school. The local kids however knew better because there was no such thing as a 'quick hello' with Mrs. Alderman.

Still, a creature of habit as she was, Mrs. Alderman never missed her walk on the first day of school.

"Aw cute dog" a strange young voice mentioned a few moments later and Mrs. Aldmerman turned around to see a young boy kneel down to pat the small dog on the head.

"Oh why thank you" the elderly woman smiled at the blonde haired lad. "Your accent" she began again as the young man lifted his head slightly to look her in the eyes. "You're from Australia?"she asked; rather intrigued.

"Melbourne" the boy smiled politely as he stood up and brushed off the knee of his khaki pants. "I actually just moved here a few weeks ago"

"Well that's lovely dear" she smiled. "You know, my husband, god rest him, once spent a year in Australia back in 1942 and well, things were different back then you see because..."

"There you are, come on we're going to be late" a young female voice quickly interrupted as she hurried to young man's side, grabbed his arm and pulled him onward.

"Uh..." he began, only to be silenced by a stern glare from the young girl that was unseen by the older woman. The boy offered back a look of utter confusion, but no words.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Alderman, you know, first day of school and all, we'd better hurry up" the girl said politely as she turned to the older woman who smiled and gave a small nod in return.

"Of course deary. Boy I remember when..."

"Yep, that's great Mrs. Alderman, you and Stewart enjoy your walk!" she called out from over her shoulder as she all but dragged the young man by his arm further down the sidewalk.

"Two questions" the boy nervously began as he carefully studied the strange brunette currently attached to his arm. "First off, who are you? Secondly, where's the fire? We've got nearly half an hour before the first bell rings, why are we running?"

"Okay, two answers" The girl began, a twinge of annoyance heard in her tone. "Allie Cameron. And, you'll thank me later"

"That's not an answer" he stopped in his tracks. "And not that you asked, but I'm Robert by the way"

"You're accent is kind of weird" the girl shrugged non-chalantly as she let go of his arm, then continued on her course.

"Hmmm. Most people find it... charming" he corrected her with a bright smile.

"Most people are idiots" came her immediate response, and she continued on her walk while Robert remained momentarily frozen in place with a look on his face that could only be described as dumbstruck.

"Wait a minute" he called out as he finally found his voice again. Robert had only spent a few weeks in the United States but he couldn't seem to go anywhere without a girl making doe eyes at him and fawning all over him, never neglecting to mention how 'cute' his accent was. This was the first girl to shrug it off and for some reason he found it fascinating rather than humiliating. Whoever this girl was, she wasn't as shallow as all the other American girls he had come across thus far and he decided then and there he was going to find out more, but he may just have to up his game a little first.

He began making a slight sprint in her direction in an effort to catch up as he was now several feet behind her when the loud rumbling of a motorcycle caused him to stop in his tracks yet again; just a few feet behind her. He looked to his left to see the source of roaring engine; a red and black vintage Harley Davidson motorcycle with what appeared to be a teenage boy at the helm. The bike made a stop right next to the curb and the young man planted one foot on the ground to steady it. He was wearing a black leather jacket and black sunglasses.

"_And who does this guy think he is?"_ Robert thought to himself inwardly with a slight scowl. He turned his attention back to the young girl, thinking now might be his chance to come up with a witty crack about stereotypical American males only to find a wide grin spreading across her face as she ran towards the edge of the street to the young buy who was now extending an extra helmet towards her.

"_What the..." _Robert immediately wondered. _"She can't... with... that guy?"_

"Couldn't make you walk with the rest of the losers on the first day of school. Besides, I need someone to play hooky with, let's go get some breakfast" the young boy smugly remarked as she took the helmet and shoved it on.

"House, it's the first day of school" she reminded him with a slight laugh.

"Yeah" he confirmed with a firm nod. "And you know how I hate to procrastinate, thought we'd better get started on misbehaving right away"

The girl simply laughed and shook her head in response and Robert could only watch in surprise.

"Speaking of losers, who's your new friend?" he questioned; nodding his head in Robert's direction.

"Oh, nobody. Come on, let's go" she shrugged as she hopped on the back of the bike and put her arms around the young man's torso. "See ya in school Ryan" she called out before the bike quickly sped away; leaving Robert coughing through the hazy cloud of emissions left behind from the exhaust pipe of the bike.

"It's... Robert..." he sighed as he watched them zip around the next corner and disappear from sight. "Nice to have met you..." he grumbled before kicking up a small pile of leaves and continuing on his lonely walk towards the school campus.

* * *

><p>Robert sat quietly in an uncomfortable chair fixed in front of a glass window; adjacent to a large desk belonging to a secretary who was busy typing away at her computer. He fiddled with the zipper on his back pack as he impatiently waited to be called for his turn; the constant recurring sound of the zipper obviously having an effect on the secretary who looked up from her computer screen only to glare at the young boy with annoyance.<p>

"Sorry" Robert grumbled in a barely audible whisper as he let go of the zipper and placed his hands in his lap.

"The headmaster will see you now" she mentioned with a nod toward a closed office door.

"Thank you" Robert muttered as he stood up from his chair and made his way towards the door.

He made a soft knocking sound using only one knuckle and was quickly ordered to enter by a deep male voice coming from inside the office.

"Come in, please, sit" The slightly larger middle aged man behind the desk greeted.

"Thank you sir" Robert nodded; noting the name on the desk plate as he took his seat. _Jonathan Cuddy_ with the title _Headmaster _in smaller lettering underneath.

"I'm Mr. Cuddy, the headmaster here at Princeton Day School" he announced as he pulled his reading glasses out of his blazer pocket and slid them on. "Now let's see here, you are..."

"Robert Chase sir" Robert meekly interrupted; quickly clearing his throat as the headmaster's eyes raised up from the file that was in front of him.

"Yes, Robert Chase..." the man continued. "I see here you moved here with your father he's... some sort of doctor?"

"Yes sir, here on a research grant sir"

"I see" the man nodded, his gaze again firmly fixed on the file in front of him. "Well your grades are above average, nothing out of the ordinary on your permanent record... I think you'll make a fine addition to our family here at Princeton"

A small knock was heard and the door quickly swung open, causing Robert to slightly jump in his chair as he turned his attention towards the door.

"Ah, and speaking of family" the headmaster began as he rose from his chair. "Mr. Chase this is my daughter, Lisa. Lisa, Robert here is a new student joining us today"

"Hi" the young, perky brunette quickly greeted. She had long wavy hair, a brilliant white smile and was undeniably beautiful by anyone's standards. Obviously either coming straight from or heading to gym class the girl wore blue shorts with the white "Princeton Wildcats" logo on the right leg; and a light grey t-shirt that said "Princeton Atheltics". She was thin but toned and defined, she rather looked like the type of girl that could kick just about any guys ass if she had the right motivation behind her Robert thought.

"Sorry to interrupt Daddy" she quickly apologized as she crossed the room over to her father's desk.

"Nonsense sweetie" he smiled as she approached.

"Just need a signature on this guidance slip saying that I have permission to change my timetable, there was a mix up and I got put into the wrong chemistry class" she explained as she handed him a slightly wrinkled piece of paper.

"Of course darling" he quickly agreed as his pen glided across the paper forming his signature before handing it back to her. "Now hurry up and get to class, second period is about to begin"

"Thanks, bye daddy, nice to meet you Robert" she smiled politely as she skipped out of her father's office.

"My little angel" he mentioned proudly as he took his seat back down at his desk.

"She seems... sweet" Robert responded awkwardly; not exactly sure what the appropriate etiquette would be in this situation.

"Yes, and I plan on her staying that way" the father's voice quickly changed from polite to stern and authoritative. "You understand?"

"Oh yes, uh, absolutely sir" Robert slightly stuttered and tripped over his words as they left his mouth.

"Good then" he nodded firmly. "Here is your class schedule. Enjoy your tenure here with us at Princeton" his tone changed once again back to a polite one as he held out a piece of paper in his left hand, and held his right hand out for Robert to shake.

"Thank you sir" Robert nodded as he accepted both the paper and the handshake. He gave a firm shake but as he went to pull back the grip clutching his hand only got tighter and he raised his eyebrows in confusion as he looked back up at the headmaster.

"I mean it young man. My daughter is off limits" he warned and Robert quickly nodded.

"Understood sir"

And with that his hand was released and he quickly slung his backpack over his shoulder as he hurried out of the office.

The school was much larger and far more elaborate aesthetically speaking than his last school in Australia and that was putting it mildly. This place more closely resembled a palace rather than an educational facility but Robert had always heard that the private schools in the United States were among the best so with a shrug of his shoulders he continued to explore through the hallways.

After managing to find his way to what he was hoping was the west corridor stairway Robert glanced at his schedule once again then shoved it into his pocket before burying his nose back into the school map that he had been given to by the secretary when he had first arrived.

He hurried up the stairs, stopping at the top of the second flight of stairs to refer back to his map again.

"Hey, watch it" a sharp voice barked from behind him before nearly running straight into him.

"I'm sorry I just... Do you know where room 313 is?" he asked and the young man rolled his eyes.

"Try the third floor genius. This is the second" He told him with mild annoyance as he pushed past him and through the doors to the second floor.

"Oh... right" Robert sighed as he turned the corner to head up the next flight of stairs; immediately stopping in his tracks half way up as he recognized two people in the corner behind the doors to the third floor.

"Gee thanks, can always count on you babe" the male voice smugly mentioned as he took a slip of paper from the girl Robert had just been introduced to moments earlier as the headmaster's daughter.

"You know our deal was you only get one of these truancy slips right? And you blew it on the first day of school" she huffed as she shook her head at him.

"But Moooommm" the boy mockingly pouted.

"I mean it, that's it" she sternly replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Hmmm, your lips say no, but your eyes say... oh who am I kidding, I have no idea what your eyes say 'cause I'm too busy staring at your ass all the time. Which by the way, I've been meaning to tell you we need to talk about your wardrobe, you're a senior now and it's about high time you started wearing something a little more... oh what's the word I'm looking for... oh yeah, sluttier. This daddy's little angel look is so last semester" he wittily returned; quickly garnering him a sharp slap to his leather clad arm.

"Ow" he whined; his left arm automatically retreating to rub his right one where she had struck him. "All I'm sayin is its time you put the _short_ in your shorts. Maybe just hike these up a bit" he mentioned as his hands went to her hips and he attempted to roll the waistband of her shorts up before she quickly slapped his hands away.

"Shut up House" she groaned. "And unless you want my dad to start actually reading the pieces of paper I put in front of him to sign I think it's in your best interest I stay this way"

"Hmmm, you make a solid argument. I have no further objections" he firmly stated with mock sincerity and the girl rolled her eyes again.

"Goodbye House"

"Bye bye... So, same time next semester right?" He called out after her as she swiftly walked away.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Robert was completely startled as he noticed the boy was now glaring at him.

"Me?"

"No, the other idiot standing right behind you" the boy groaned and Robert quickly turned around only to see no one behind him; further embarrassing himself.

"Oh I uh... I was just um... Well nothing I just..." Robert lightly stammered; his gaze fixed firmly to the floor.

"Alright dude, don't hurt yourself" The boy lightly chuckled as he shook his head. "Now listen, whatever you _think_ you saw just now" he began but Robert quickly interjected.

"Oh nothing I... I didn't see anything"

"Atta boy" the boy flashed a half smirk as he descended down the staircase; offering Robert a pat to the shoulder as he passed him on the way down. "I gotta get to class 'cause if I'm late I'll have to have sex with her again to get another free pass" he huffed, rolling his eyes and with what Robert could only assume was dry sarcasm in his tone.

'_Okay seriously, who IS this guy?' _Robert's curiosity grew immensely stronger as he saw the stranger in the leather jacket disappear from his sight once again.

**A/N: Well that concludes the introductory chapter. Please leave a review before you go, I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Coming up you'll meet Foreman and Wilson and learn a little more about High School House, how everyone connects, and how House gets away with everything he does. Also, please note that there are no established relationships in this story (at least not yet anyway) so it's all kind of fair game at the moment but it will follow closely to the canon of the show.**


	2. The Social Network

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 2: The Social Network**

**DISCLAIMER: Hey, if I owned the show House would still be lying on Cuddy's couch with his head in her lap because nothing after 7x14 would've ever happened on my watch. Just sayin. (except maybe the House/Wilson chicken bet from 7x20. I would totally get behind that)**

_A/N: Thanks for the alerts and reviews on the first chapter. Hopefully this chapter clears a few more things up as you get to know more about the gang!  
>PS - Don't get too used to having 2 chapters in one week, I just felt I owed you guys a little more explanation into this story as the first chapter didn't reveal much. Although I have a few more chapters completed, I am still writing this as I go and so it can sometimes take a while, depending on the attention span of my muse ;)<em>

* * *

><p>'<em>Eric Foreman to the Headmaster's office please. Eric Foreman to the Headmaster's office'<em>

Eric Foreman; a fellow senior student at Princeton rolled his eyes and slammed his fist on his desk as he heard his name being called out over the P.A. system. Several "oooh's" were heard among his fellow classmates as they all alluded to the likely fact that Eric was about to get into some trouble.

"Mr. Foreman" his biology teacher called out a few short moments later. "You're excused to go see Headmaster Cuddy"

"Well? What did _we_ do this time?" Eric grumbled towards House who was seated next to him.

"You mean what minor misdemeanour have you unknowingly aided and abetted?" House quickly retorted to which Eric replied with a slight shrug and nod of his head.

"Oh it could be any number of things" House mused as he looked at the ceiling and shrugged. "But whatever it is, remember the 'homie' code" he mocked smugly as he made a fist and extended it out towards Eric.

"Yeah, yeah. You owe me House" Eric sighed as he stood up from his desk and gave House a light fist bump before exiting the classroom.

"Put it on my tab" House called out as Eric exited the classroom.

* * *

><p>"Ah Mr. Foreman, please have a seat" Headmaster Cuddy greeted the young man as he entered his office. "And tell me, why you think you're here in my office already on the first day back to school"<p>

The young man sighed and nervously twiddled his thumbs in his lap before offering a small shrug. Eric of course had no idea what House had done this time to get him in trouble and would only incriminate himself further if he just started guessing at all the things he actually knew about.

"Well" Mr. Cuddy decided to begin anyway. "I just got off the phone with Mrs. Tucker and she was very upset to hear that the drama club's reservations of the sound stage every Thursday for the next month had been removed from the list and replaced in the record log with your name. Now forgive me, maybe more has happened over the summer break than I recall but when did you graduate, become a faculty member at this school and bestow upon yourself the authority to make such decisions? Hmm?" His voice was stern and clearly agitated. Eric shifted slightly in his chair as he struggled to come up with an answer.

"I... uh... Must be some mistake sir" was all his brain could come up with, lame as it sounded.

"Right, it's probably the _other_ Eric Foreman enrolled here" the headmaster grumbled. "I'd like an answer son. If it wasn't you, it had to be somebody"

Eric simply shrugged. "Maybe just a prank sir? What would I need with the sound stage?" he scoffed in hopes that Mr. Cuddy would buy into his explanation.

"So you're not going to admit to this?"

"Honestly sir, I had nothing to do with that. But I will apologize to Mrs. Tucker" he gulped nervously as his eyes shifted back and forth with uncertainty.

"Yes, you will apologize" came his stern reply. "And until you either admit that you did it _or_ give me the name of who is really responsible; which we both know you aren't going to give up; you will be placed on a special assignment from me in lieu of detention"

Eric rolled his eyes but nodded in compliance. "Okay"

"We have a new student that joined us today. Here is a copy of his class schedule, I want you to find him and show him around. His father made a very generous donation to this school and I want him to be taken care of. Do you understand?"

"So, what, I have to babysit some new kid?" Eric scoffed at the idea. To say he was less than thrilled about the idea of being a glorified babysitter would be a huge understatement.

"Yes, that's exactly right. You are to remain at his side at all times during lunch and free periods, make friends with him, make him feel at home here. Besides, I think we can both agree you could use better influences around you"

"What's wrong with the friends I have now?" Eric quickly fired back, only to receive a less than amused glare in return from the headmaster.

"Fine" Eric sighed; reluctantly agreeing to the punishment, as it was better than the alternative which would likely be scrubbing the toilets every day after school for a month like his last disciplinary arrangement.

"Very well" The headmaster nodded before focussing back on the stack of papers on his desk. "Now get out of here, lunch hour is about to begin" he mentioned without looking up from his papers and just offering a wave of his hand signalling for Eric to leave.

Eric sighed once more as he stood up and left the office. Just as the he closed the door behind him the loud ring of the school bell indicated that lunch hour had begun so Eric glanced at the schedule he had been given and hurried up the stairs to find his new detention project.

* * *

><p>"Hey, you Chase?" A voice called Robert from behind and he turned to see a strange boy leaning against a locker outside his second period classroom. The dark skinned boy had short black hair, brown eyes and was of average height and build. The only thing unique about him so far that Robert could notice was the less than amused expression he wore on his face as he eyed Robert.<p>

"Yeah..." the boy looked around, somewhat confused. "Who are you?"

"Your new babysitter" Eric groaned as he shoved a piece of paper back into his pocket. "Headmaster Cuddy says I have to eat lunch with you"

"Well gee that's a flattering _invitation_ but I'll be fine on my own thanks" Robert grimaced as he shook his head and turned away to head towards the cafeteria.

This school was beginning to get to him, by the end of his first class he found himself completely miserable by all the hostility he had endured so far. He always heard that American youth were for the most part rude and pretentious; especially the upper middle class youth; and so far that stereotype seemed to have rang true since he had yet to meet anyone who seemed like a half decent human being other than his all to brief encounter with the brunette that had occupied his thoughts all morning.

"Hey wait up man" the boy was at his side in an instant and grabbed onto his shoulder. "Look, you don't know anybody, and I don't wanna go back to scrubbing toilets after school so let's just get through lunch then you can tell the headmaster that we made nice but in the future you'd like to be left to your own devices. Then I'll be off the hook and we can leave each other alone"

"I'm not a charity case, I can make my own friends" Robert barked back.

"Cool man" Eric raised his hands in defeat. "Let's just do lunch, I'll give you the lay of the land and you can go be friends with whoever you want"

"Why'd you get stuck doing this?" Robert wondered, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Apparently my friends are bad influences and Mr. Cuddy thinks it would 'do me good' to hang around pretentious rich boys like you" Eric huffed.

"Charming guy like you? Can't see why you'd have a hard time finding decent friends" Robert returned sarcastically before turning away from Eric once more.

"Alright, alright!" Eric conceited as he hurried to catch up to Robert's side once more. "Sorry, I didn't mean that last part. Can we please just go to lunch this one time? Better than being seen by yourself on the first day of school right?"

"Fine" Robert groaned. The boy was right, he didn't know who anyone was and high school being what it is he wouldn't want to get involved in the wrong social circles and become even more miserable than he is now; if that was even at all possible.

Heaving a heavy sigh Robert let his shoulders fall with defeat and gave Eric a firm nod before the two headed for the staircase together.

* * *

><p>"Okay, let me break it down for you" Eric began as he and Robert set their cafeteria trays down on a empty large round table a few minutes later.<p>

"See over here," he pointed to his left and paused briefly to take a large bite out of his turkey sandwich. "you've got your basic run of the mill geek squad" he continued, his mouth still half full. "You got your mathletes, chess club, science club. Basically that's what we call the social suicide zone" he explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "You're gonna wanna stay away from there"

"Right" Robert nodded slowly; not fully understanding but pretending he did for the sake of argument.

"Over here you've got your burnouts. If you like standing around all day playing hacky sack and making compelling arguments about things nobody cares about and forgetting about them five minutes later; these are your guys"

Robert shook his head negatively.

"Good call" Eric nodded. "You've got your band geeks" he continued and Robert shook his head again. "Your socialites" he nodded his head to the table behind them; 6 young girls who were too busy gossiping and filing their nails to actually eat lunch. "Just do yourself a favour and stay away from them all together" Eric lightly warned and Robert nodded.

"Jocks and cheerleaders" Eric nodded towards the cafeteria doors to a large herd of letterman jacket clad boys and mini skirt wearing girls who began making their way to the cafeteria line.

"I suck at sports" Robert groaned. "I am however partial to girls in skirts..." he continued with a small smirk forming on his lips while his eyes closely followed one of the cheerleaders in particular who was walking ahead of the group as she made her way past their table.

"Keep dreaming man" Eric scoffed at the naive young man.

"Well this is America right?" Robert smiled smugly. "The land of opportunity... Besides, I know that girl, I met her this morning. I'm going for it"

"Waste of time man" Eric shook his head just as Robert went to stand up.

"Why?"

"Let's just say she... Has other interests" Eric nodded his head towards the front of the cafeteria line where Greg House and another young man stood.

* * *

><p>"Put it on his tab" House nodded his head towards the boy to his left as they stood at the cafeteria cashier desk.<p>

"Where's your wallet?" The boy groaned as he reached for his own, pulling out a ten dollar bill and handing it to the middle aged woman at the cash register.

"In my pocket, where else would it be?" He shrugged.

"Then why did you... You know what, nevermind" his clearly frustrated friend groaned as he rubbed his forehead with his hand.

* * *

><p>"I hate that guy..." Robert muttered as he played with a french fry on his plate; his voice snapping Eric's attention back to him.<p>

"That's just House" Eric chuckled as he shook his head.

"The guy's a tool" Robert quickly backfired; to the slight shock of Eric. "What? You don't agree?"

"Oh no I think everybody here would agree with you I'm just surprised to hear you figure it out so quickly. Looks like you don't need my help after all"

"So how's he get a girl like that to be his girlfriend?" Robert wondered aloud as he focussed his attention back to the cafeteria line where the girl he had been introduced to as Allie had now caught up to the two boys.

"No man she's not his girlfriend" Eric simply shook his head.

"Really?" Robert's voice perked up slightly.

"Much to her dismay" Eric added and Robert frowned.

"So, he's gay" Robert mentioned, more as an assumed fact rather than a question, causing Eric to nearly fall over in his chair from laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?" a slightly angered House asked as he reached their table and dropped his tray on it from a high enough distance to startle the boys with the loud bang that followed.

"Well?" House questioned further; eyeing Eric. "Aren't you going to share with the rest of the class?"

Eric took a moment to collect himself from laughing so hard and sat up properly at the table again; taking a brief moment to look across the table at Robert who was now shaking his head and glaring at him; begging him with his eyes not to reveal their conversation.

"My boy Chase here..." Eric began, still laughing but trying to get the words out and Chase shook his head at Eric once more. "He thinks you're gay"

"Ha. Wilson wishes" House simply retorted, nudging his friend in the arm, who just rolled his eyes in response as they both took a seat on opposite sides of the table; House sitting down next to Eric and Allie taking the seat next to House.

Allie looked amazing Robert thought to himself. True, she was wearing the school standard uniform just like every other girl there but the smile she never seemed to stop sharing with the people around her was something nobody could duplicate, that he was sure of. She wore the traditional blue and grey plaid kilt with navy blue knee-high stockings and a white collared short sleeve blouse with the school's crest embroidered on the left side. Her hair was a golden brown with blonde highlights, sitting a few inches past her shoulders and it had a bit of curl to it at the ends which she was currently twirling around her index finger as she sipped on her diet soda. Long bangs swept across her forehead on an angle, slightly covering her left eye; it was everything in Robert not to reach across the table and push them aside if only to get the chance to look into her eyes for even a brief second. _Snap out of it_, he quickly thought to himself, focussing his attention elsewhere before he was caught staring.

The boys all wore the same as well, grey or khaki dress pants, white oxford shirts, blue and red striped ties and some also opted for the optional navy blue sweater vests or blazers. Robert noticed the boy sitting with House did in fact opt for both the sweater vest and blazer. He was very clean cut; hair neatly kempt, light brown parted down one side and stopped right above his cheekbone . An upstanding young man as far as Robert could tell. Which is why it was so odd to see him hanging out with the likes of this _House_ kid. Sure, he wore the uniform, but in his own rough-edged way. His top few shirt buttons were undone and he was wearing a white t-shirt underneath with a black Rolling Stones logo on it that was easily seen through the thin white oxford. The tie, which was a strict part of the uniform code as far as Robert had been informed was nowhere to be seen and he of course didn't opt for the sweater vest or blazer. Everything about him from the top of his slightly spiky bed-head inspired hairstyle down to soles of his classic black and white Chuck Taylors screamed rebellion.

"Look you're cute and all but I just told you I'm not gay" the sharp remark from House as he noticed him staring snapped Robert out of his momentary daze and he looked into the boy's icy blue eyes like a deer caught in headlights.

"I..." He thought for a brief moment about defending himself but then realized it wasn't worth the embarassment of admitting he was judging the boy that he now considered his 'competition' so figured it best to just keep his mouth shut and act as if he had no idea to what House was referring. He shifted nervously in his seat as an awkward silence grew and turned his gaze to the plate in front of him and kept it fixed there firmly in an effort to avoid the pair of eyes he could feel staring him down from across the table.

House carefully studied the nervous young man before him for a few more seconds before offering a slight shrug of his shoulders then reached for his sandwich and took a large bite, his interest apparently lost as he started chatting to his friend about the 'sick' game of Call of Duty they had played together the previous night.

_Thank God,_ Robert sighed inwardly. He didn't know much about this House kid but one thing he thought for certain, he could probably make his life a living hell if he wanted to. In fact he seemed the type that might even do it just for fun, not unlike a child who tortures ants with a magnifying glass in the sunlight. This, Robert thought to himself, might just be a guy who's good side you'll want to get on, and stay on.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Thanks for reading! Remember, reviews are love :) Up next you'll learn a little more about the group of friends as they have lunch together and witness a few more of House's antics ;) Thanks for stopping by!_


	3. The Ties That Bind Gregory House

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 3: The Ties That Bind Gregory House**

**DISCLAIMER: I'd love to tell you that James Wilson belongs to me, but sadly he doesn't. So for now I'm just borrowing him and his friends. Enjoy.**

_A/N: For those of you who have asked, yes, Thirteen will be coming into this story eventually (tentatively by chapter 6) so please stay tuned for that :)  
><em>

_Oh, and one thing that's throwing me off in writing this story is whether or not to use their first or last names. It makes sense when they're doctors, but as high school students its seems some-what odd. I could certainly see House calling everybody by a last name but not so sure about the others so I tried to clear that up in this chapter and you'll see when I take the transformation into using their last names when referring to the characters. However, don't be thrown off that when they speak to each other they don't always refer to each other by last names. Except House, he is pretty much just 'House' to everyone except for his parents, teachers, etc. Anyway, hopefully that makes sense._

_Enough of my rambling. On with the story..._

* * *

><p>"We met this morning right?" Allie Cameron's bright voice suddenly chimed in and Robert quickly raised his head to look at her across the table from him.<p>

"Uh yeah" one corner of his mouth twitched upwards into a small smile.

"Richard right?" she asked, her head cocked to the side and her brow furrowed.

"Robert" he sighed. _'Clearly you have no chance, she can't even remember your name'_ he groaned inwardly.

"Sorry" she lightly giggled; her laughter instantly bringing the small smile back to Robert's lips as he watched her sweep her bangs out of her eyes for probably the fifth time since she had sat down; never quite getting them to stay where she wanted them to.

"No it's, it's fine..." Robert mentioned, clearing his throat as he sat up straight again. House's gaze rose up from his cafeteria tray to meet Robert's; who might as well have had large red cartoon shaped hearts pulsating out of his pupils.

"So" House immediately spoke up; turning towards Eric. "Who's your new _friend_?" he asked; a twinge of annoyance underlying his tone.

"Charity work in lieu of detention" Eric grumbled. "Chase, this is House" he nodded his head to the left. "James Wilson" he nodded across the table and boy offered him a polite nod. "And apprently you already know Cameron" he mentioned and Robert could feel his heart rate quicken as she looked across the table and flashed a quick smile meant only for him.

One thing he was rather thrown off about is why American's almost all seemed to refer to each other by their last names. He found it rather odd but shrugged it off as one of those things about Americans he would probably never understand. That list was growing longer and longer as his day went on it seemed. Suddenly Eric; or rather _Foreman_; he figured he might as well refer to him as; began speaking again, snapping _Chase_ back to reality.

"Which by the way, ought to be _your_ charity work. What's this crap you're pulling about the sound stage?" Foreman questioned; narrowing his gaze at House.

"I figured it was time we took the 'garage' out of our garage band. We need a real practice space. Besides, the drama club hasn't put on a show for 4 years, what do they need the space for?"

"So... You thought you could just take it over and nobody would notice?" Foreman scoffed a little at the thought.

"Course not" House quickly shook his head. "I thought _you_ could just take it over; seeing as how I'm on my second strike and all and old man Cuddy is just itching for a reason to expel me"

"And who's fault is that?" Wilson had piped up; finally looking up from his plate.

"I feel like that's a rhetorical question..." House mused and Wilson instantly rolled his eyes before going back to picking at his salad.

"I'll give it to you though;" Wilson started again moments later. "I'm surprised you've made it this far"

"Yeah well, it's all about who ya know. And I've got a friend on the inside" House smirked as his gaze wandered to the other side of the cafeteria where Lisa Cuddy sat with a large group of friends. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer"

"Yeah" Wilson scoffed. "_That's_ why you're friends with her"

"No, _you're_ friends with her" House corrected. "I just solicit myself to her for sex to stay out of trouble" he shrugged before taking another large bite of his sandwhich.

Chase stared, slightly shocked at the boys response then noticed everyone else at the table either rolling their eyes or shaking their heads.

"You kissed her. Once" Wilson immediately corrected; slightly annoyed it seemed. "At an eight grade birthday party game of spin the bottle. Move on House, nobody's buying any of your crazy today"

"Buzzkill" House grunted in return, taking the final bite of his sandwich.

"Well" Cameron spoke up after clearing her throat. "I've got practice to get to, I'll see you guys later" she mentioned, standing up from the table. Chase was quick to pull out from the table himself and stand up as she walked away however Cameron didn't even seem to notice.

"Easy Prince Charming" House groaned as Chase took his seat again.

"Why do you have to do that to her" a clearly annoyed Wilson questioned; looking over to House.

"What?"

"You know what" Wilson sighed. "The girl is practically in love with you, would it kill you to talk about anything besides other girls while she's around?" Chase inwardly cringed at those words.

"She is not _in love_ with me" House scoffed. "Besides, I haven't done anything to lead her on. Now your mom on the other hand..."

"Okay, just stop" Wilson huffed as he raised one hand up to silence his friend.

Chase couldn't help but laugh and Foreman immediately rolled his eyes. "Don't encourage him" he warned.

"I'm bored" House announced as he crunched his soda can flat and tossed it onto the tray. "Wilson, let's get out of here" he stood up and motioned for his friend to join him, which he almost instantly did.

"Ah Mr. House" the shrill voice of an unknown woman came from behind them and everyone turned to see a stout middle-aged woman staring at the young man with her arms folded across her chest and her toe tapping on the floor.

"Mrs. Miller" House smiled back at her; clearly a completely fake smile but Chase wasn't sure this woman could tell that. "How are you on this lovely day? You, by the way, look fantastic" he beamed, emphasizing the last word. Foreman shook his head and dropped it into his hands, Chase looked on with curiosity. "Are those new glasses?" he motioned to the pair of lime green thick rimmed glasses dangling on a string around her neck.

"Why yes, they are" she smiled slightly, playing with one end of the glasses with her thumb and forefinger.

_She's actually buying this crap?_ Chase wondered, slightly shocked.

"Love the color, totally suits you" House told her with stunning conviction in his tone and her smile grew wider.

"Mrs. Miller, is everything alright?" another voice was heard and House looked behind him to see Headmaster Cuddy standing not too far away; apparently keeping a close eye on his _favorite_ student.

"Oh fine sir" she smiled sweetly and House rolled his eyes.

_Playtime's over_ Robert smirked to himself.

"Alright then" the headmaster nodded, although sounding slightly unsure of himself before turning around and heading on his way.

"What a coincidence because I actually need to be going too..." House piped up nodding his head in the direction of the cafeteria doors. He turned to step away when Mrs. Miller's voice stopped him once more with a little more authority this time.

"Gregory, I didn't stop you so that we could chit chat" she said sternly; the headmaster clearly snapping her out of whatever reverie House had her under.

"Really? That's too bad because... I could do this with you all day. How are the kids? Johnny and Sarah"

"Jared and Stephanie" she corrected.

"Right, thats what I said"

"They're lovely, thank you" she answered somewhat annoyed. "Now young man I came over here to ask you, where is your tie?"

Chase had been wondering the same thing earlier and he looked on to see just how the seemed 'mastermind' was going to get out of this one.

"My tie?" House scoffed at the question as if he couldn't believe she'd waste not only his, but her own time on asking such a thing.

"You know the rules Gregory"

"And I followed the rules" he noted with a firm nod; that smug smirk on his lips never fading in the least.

"Gregory do not waste my time" the woman now clearly aggitated shifted from one foot to the other and placed a hand on her hip.

"Mrs. Miller I wouldn't dream of it. I did in fact wear my tie today" he stated with pride as he lifted his untucked shirt slightly above his waistband; revealing his tie which he had threaded through the belt loopholes on his pants.

"Couldn't find my belt this morning, had to improvise" he shrugged.

"That is not proper-" the woman began before House quickly interrupted.

"Actually," he began with complete confidence. "There's nothing in the uniform policy that says your tie has to be worn around your neck, and as you can see here I even used a full windsor knot, just as the policy states" he pointed to his make-shift 'belt buckle' with a smirk that just made you want to walk up to and smack right off of him. "Which, is actually really difficult to do from this angle" he explained while tilting his head down to admire his own handywork. "So... If you don't mind, I really do need to be going"

The woman, clearly stunned had nothing to say in return. Instead she let out a short aggravated huff before spinning on her heel and walking away in the other direction. House looked over to Wilson who stood there with his mouth half open in mild shock.

"What?" House grimaced towards his friend.

"You just made that rule up"

House tilted his head from side to side for a short moment as if he was pondering the thought before he responded; "yeah well, let's hope she doesn't go through the trouble of trying to prove me wrong. But just in case she does, I'll get Cameron to go over to the library and rip that page out of the school policy binder"

"You're unbelievable" Wilson sighed with defeat, his hands collapsing at his sides.

"Oh stop" House stated with mock embarassment, waving his hand at his friend. "Now come on, lets go see if they ever got around to fixing that third floor vending machine I rigged last year. If not, desserts on me"

And with that the two boys turned and left the cafeteria, leaving Foreman and Chase by themselves once again.

"So anyway, that's House" Foreman smirked as he watched his friends leave. "I'd love to tell you you get used to him but...

"Yeah, I think I get it" Chase groaned, focussing back on his lunch.

* * *

><p>House leaned against Wilson's locker on the third floor; a red sucker twirling around in his mouth as Wilson was knelt on the ground trying to arrange his textbooks and binders so that they'd all fit in his bookbag.<p>

"Very metro of you" House commented, nodding at his friend as he pulled the candy out of his mouth for brief moment.

"What?"

"Don't get me wrong, I think its cool that you carry a purse. Or wait, its murse right? That's what you gays like to call it? Guys. Guys. I meant to say guys." He corrected himself with an amused smirk forming on his lips.

Wilson only rolled his eyes and continued stuffing his books into the bag.

"It's a sachel House" he eventually corrected before pulling the flap over the leather bag, fastening the strap and rising to his feet as he slung the bag over one shoulder.

"Your mommy get it for you?" House teased.

"House, you've had the same ratty blue backpack since we were in junior kindergarten" Wilson returned to which House simply shrugged.

"So what, now its vintage"

Wilson shook his head. He wasn't going to win this. He never won. Nobody won when pitted against Greg House. Suddenly something, or rather someone caught Wilson's attention and he gave House a nod towards the direction he was looking in. House glanced over his shoulder to see Lisa Cuddy walking towards them.

"Oh here we go" House groaned.

"What?" Wilson wondered aloud.

"She probably wants something from me"

"You mean other than to deny your existense?"

"You're just jealous because she wants me and you'll never get out of the friend zone" House stated and Wilson rolled his eyes.

"Hey Lis" Wilson smiled sweetly as she began approaching the two boys, only a few feet away.

"Hi James. New haircut? I like it" she smiled in return and House swung around to face her as she continued towards them.

"Hey baby-cakes" he greeted her loudly enough the entire floor could have very well heard him. "Wanna suck on my lolly?" he asked, pulling the sucker out of his mouth and raising an eyebrow at her.

"Bite me House" was all she responded with; not even slowing in her steps as she continued past him.

"I love it when you talk dirty" he yelled after her before looking back at Wilson.

"And what do you call that?" Wilson scoffed, folding his arms across his chest and awaiting an answer.

"Foreplay" House simply responded with a slight shrug, biting down and breaking the remainder of the hard candy and chewing on it obnoxiously.

Before Wilson had a chance to argue the bell rang and House raised his eyebrows and flashed a victorious smile.

"Gotta go pal. See ya after school"

"I have a guidance appointment after school, remember you said you'd wait for me!" he called out after House who was now halfway down the hall.

"Won't forget" House called back, not turning around, just simply raising an arm in the air and giving Wilson a thumbs up.

* * *

><p>"And he forgot" Wilson sighed loudly before dropping his bag to his feet as he stood in the nearly empty parking lot a couple hours later; staring at the vacant spot where House always parked his motorcycle.<p>

"That's just great House" he grumbled to himself as he fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone; sighing once more when he saw the words _'no new messages'_ displayed on the screen. _Could've atleast had the decency to tell me he wasn't going to wait_ he thought to himself.

"James?" A familiar voice called from behind and he turned slightly to see Lisa Cuddy walking towards him.

"Hey Lis"

"What's up?"

"House was... Nothing" he groaned. If he was being honest he wasn't really in the least bit surprised that House had ditched him. Patience wasn't exactly House's strong suit.

"Hey you're not walking home by any chance are you?" she asked hopefully.

"Apparently, yeah, I am"

"Think you could walk me?"

Wilson smiled slightly. "Well, it's a little out of my way..."

"Shut up" Cuddy laughed.

"Yeah come on, let's go" Wilson nodded for them leave and they headed out across the parking lot.

"So..." Wilson began a few minutes into their walk. "How come your dad didn't drive you home?"

"Oh he had some meeting going on and I got bored waiting for him in his office and that's when I spotted you. Besides its a nice day, I'd rather walk"

"Ah" was all he responded with.

"What about you, where's your _other half_?" she smirked.

"House ditched me" he shrugged.

"You're really surprised?" she questioned and Wilson shook his head.

"Not really, I guess"

"James, we've known each other our whole lives and I think it's safe to say I know you pretty well. You are quite possibly the nicest, most decent guy I've ever met. You are the boy next door; litterally and metaphorically" she explained further.

"So?" Wilson wondered where she was going with this.

"So, why on earth do you spend your days running around with... Dennis the Menace?" It was the first appropriate analagy that popped into her head and Wilson couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh at her comparison.

"You know I think there was a brief period of time where House actually walked around with a slingshot in his back pocket?"

"Doesn't surprise me" Cuddy said, rolling her eyes. "Seriously though" she pressed on.

"I know he's a handful and probably seems like more trouble than he's worth but House is... fun" Wilson answered simply. "You do remember what fun is, don't you?"

"I have fun" she scoffed in return, folding her arms across her chest and resenting the implication.

"Lis, I live next door to you. I know you're home in your room almost every night stuck in front of your desk with textbooks piled around you"

"Creeper" she smirked at him, nudging his side.

Wilson rolled eyes and smiled. "No but come on, you know what I mean. It wasn't so long ago that you House and I used to have quite a lot of fun together"

"You mean when we were six?" she scoffed slightly and he shrugged but nodded his head.

"Still had fun" came his simple reply.

"Yeah well, that was then..."

"And what? You can't have fun now?"

"Not with my dad lecturing me about how important my grades are now more than ever and that I need to score high enough on my SAT's if I want to get into an ivy league school" she huffed.

"It was the summer" Wilson looked at her, somewhat confused.

"He made me take mock SAT's" Cuddy rolled her eyes.

"Wow, your dad is hardcore" he bit back his laughter as to avoid another smack to his arm from her.

"Tell me about it" she groaned. "He says he's not going to make the same mistakes with me that he did with Julia. She wasn't prepared and when she went off to college all she did was party until she nearly got kicked out for not keeping her grades up. Now me and my social life are paying the price"

"Look don't sweat it, your smart Lis. And a little fun isn't gonna change that. It's okay to worry about the future but not so much that you're forgetting to live in the present"

"Thank you Dr. Phil, I'll have to remember that" she smirked before nudging her shoulder with his and he laughed.

"What are you doing Saturday night?" He asked as their brisk walk slowed to a stop when they reached the end of Cuddy's driveway.

Cuddy just gave him a look in return that said _'don't ask such stupid questions' _and Wilson smirked.

"Put the books away for one night and come to House's party. His parents are going away for the weekend and he's holding a 'Back-to-School Bash'" Wilson explained as they lingered at the end of the driveway.

"My dad is _not_ going to let me go to a party at House's" she huffed, as if Wilson should know better. "Hell it could be a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and my dad probably wouldn't let me go"

"So... don't tell him that's where you're going" he simply shrugged in return.

"You want me to..."

"Lie?" Wilson immediately interrupted. "Yes. We're teenagers, it's what we do. Besides, you're just going to a party, it's not like I'm asking you to tag along on a B&E" he joked and her face softened slightly.

"I don't know" she huffed. "We'll see"

"So, that's a maybe?" Wilson pressed further.

"If I say it's a yes will you let me go inside now?"

"Yes" he nodded and she let out a small smile.

"Fine, I'll go"

"Atta girl" Wilson beamed with a bright smile. "You'll have fun, I promise"

"That remains to be seen. Thanks for walking me home"

"Good night Lis"

"Night" she waved at him as he took the few extra steps to the end of his own driveway and they both walked towards their front doors, offering one last wave to each other as they stepped inside their seperate homes.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Thanks for reading, and please leave a review before you go, I love hearing from you :) Up next we'll meet the Wilson clan and see how House interacts with them. So stay tuned! _


	4. Meet The Wilson's

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 4: Meet the Wilsons**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, they all belong to David Shore and NBCU. Except Gregory House, who will always belong to Lisa Cuddy ;)**

_A/N: I realize we know next to nothing about the Wilson family, other than that one of his brothers had some mental health issues so this is pretty much all purely made up of my own imagination. I figure though that the 'boywonder oncologist' probably came from a mostly happy home life... All names used in the Wilson family are completely made up as we were never told what they actually are._

_Once again, the weirdness with the first name/last name. When a character is in their home and interacting with their family I kind of feel it necessary to use their first name because otherwise they're all "Wilson's" etc. But when the character is alone or with the gang, its last names. Sorry for any confusion this causes, but I'm sure you all get it._

* * *

><p>"Hey mom, I'm home" James Wilson called out loudly as he entered his home and kicked his shoes off his feet into the nearby closet.<p>

"Hi sweetie" his mother; Mary Wilson called back from the kitchen. "Dinner in 15 minutes, go and get cleaned up, and tell your brother please"

"Yeah, okay mom" he agreed as he began trekking up the stairs to his bedroom.

The Wilson household was one of the more extravagant homes on the street; three stories with 5 bedrooms, exquisite marble flooring throughout the kitchen dining room and front foyer, and beautiful home accents in just about every room. Mary Wilson was a successful interior designer, turning upper middle-class homes in the area into something the women could all gossip about on Sunday mornings after the church service let out. His father, David Wilson, was a judge for the state of New Jersey. House would often joke that his father's connections was the only reason he became friends with James in the first place and although it sounds feasible and downright likely James knew better. House cared about him, just in his own House way.

James made it up the spiral staircase and stopped at the first bedroom on his left, swinging the door open to see the youngest Wilson boy sitting cross-legged in a bean bag chair with a Gameboy in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other. James sighed as entered the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

"What are you doing with this Mikey? Dinner's almost ready, mom's gonna kill you"

The eight year old simply shrugged; his chocolate brown eyes never leaving the video game screen.

"Come on" James groaned, pulling the small boy off the chair and snatching the candy bar from him. "Go wash up for dinner and make sure you get all that chocolate off your face"

The boy pouted for a short moment but then with a huff turned and started out of his bedroom before James quickly grabbed onto his arm again and pulled him back.

"The game Mikey" James explained, holding his hand out. He knew his brother well enough by now to know that he would more than likely just lock himself in the bathroom and go right back to playing the video game rather than getting ready for dinner.

"5 more minutes Jimmy? Please!" the boy lightly begged, tugging on James' shirt and jumping up and down. "Dad's not going to let me play it when he gets home"

James sighed, glancing down at his watch. "5 minutes, and that's it" he told him firmly. "Then you have to get cleaned up"

"Kay!" the boy shouted in excitement before jumping back into his chair and turning the game back on; the start up sounds of which made James turn back around to look at his brother before exiting the room.

'_Zombie Attack!'_ the small device announced as demonic music played in the background and James' eyes narrowed at his younger brother.

"Mikey where did you get that?" James immediately asked and Michael Wilson's eyes quickly shifted from one side of the room to the other as he tried to come up with an answer other than the truth.

"Let me see that" James held out his hand once more.

"Oh come on Jimmy" the smaller boy whined; masterful pout displayed on his face that under normal circumstance would cause James to cave.

"Mikey" James sighed as he watched the opening cut scene of the video game now in his hands. "This is way too violent for you" he explained. "Now where did it come from because I know mom or dad didn't buy this for you"

"I unno" the boy muttered, looking anywhere but into his brothers eyes.

"Somebody at school give this to you?" James questioned further and the boy shook his head negatively.

"Well you don't know anybody who would own this kind of game except..." suddenly James rolled his eyes as the only logical explanation entered his mind. "Mikey, get ready for dinner, now"

"Fine" the boy huffed as he picked himself up off the chair and shuffled out of the bedroom, James following behind him.

Michael went straight for the bathroom where James turned to the next bedroom, his own, and swung open the door.

"Zombies House? Really? He's 8!" Wilson huffed as he tossed the game cartridge at his best friend who was currently sitting at Wilson's desk with his legs stretched out, feet resting on another chair a few feet away, and trademark red sucker currently between his lips.

"You'll thank me when zombies do actually attack and your little brother saves your sorry ass" House quickly returned.

Wilson rolled his eyes before shoving House's feet off the chair and onto the floor to take a seat himself.

"Thanks by the way, for waiting for me after school like you said you would" Wilson huffed and House looked at him rather confused.

"Guidance appointment? Any of this ringing a bell?" Wilson asked, rather annoyed.

"Oh yeah, right. I got bored" he simply answered with a slight shrug.

"Course you did" Wilson groaned. "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have your own family to pester?"

"I did go home" House began quietly. "Then left almost as quickly"

"Ahh" Wilson nodded. "The Major must be home" Wilson concluded; referring to House's father who was a Major in the Marine Corps. He would be gone for months at a time but would come home on leave from time to time, usually for a week or two at a time and during those times House would become a near permanent house guest at the Wilson household.

"Yes, and he's being a _Major_ pain in my ass already" House explained with a huff.

"Well I take it Mom must know you're here because she's making your favourite. I could smell it as soon as I walked in the door"

"Don't be jealous that your mom loves me more than you" House taunted and Wilson rolled his eyes.

"By the way are you trying to do your part to save the environment?" Wilson asked, nodding his head towards the corner of his room where House's skateboard was propped up against the wall. "Where's the bike?"

"Old man got pissed cause I didn't cut the grass and took my keys away" House groaned; biting down on the remainder of his sucker and breaking it into several smaller pieces to chew on.

"And why are you eating that crap now? You're as bad as..." he began before another light bulb went off in his brain and he rolled his eyes and nodded his head. "Mikey. You gave him that candy bar too didn't you?"

House simply shrugged. "I can neither confirm nor deny" he told him, offering a wink that didn't go unnoticed by Wilson who rolled his eyes yet again.

"You know House, one day you're going to have to learn to be responsible and accountable to someone other than yourself"

"Ah yes, but until that day comes..." he began with an amused smirk before he was interrupted.

"Boys, dinner's ready!" the voice of Mary Wilson called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Come on, let's go" Wilson announced as he stood up and walked out of his bedroom, House following just a few feet behind. "And no more zombie games for Mikey!" he warned before they began heading down the stairs.

"Yes mom" House groaned before pushing past Wilson on the staircase and hopping over the banister before the last few steps.

"And don't-" Wilson began but it was too late; House's feet had already landed firmly on the ground and he smirked up at Wilson before continuing on into the dining room.

"Why do I bother?" he sighed to himself as he continued down the stairs until he felt his little brother push by his legs. The younger boy fled down the stairs, stopping close to the bottom and attempted to scale his way up onto the railing before James quickly caught up to him, pried him from the railing and threw him over his shoulder.

"Jimmy" the boy moaned; fists pounding against his older brother's back. "I wanna try"

"Yeah? You wanna try being grounded too? Cause that's exactly what'll happen if mom or dad ever catch you doing that" he fairly warned as he placed the boy back on the ground.

"You're a stupid head!" came the boy's grouchy response as he smacked his brother's arm before fleeing into the dining room. James simply shook his head and carried on into the dining room where House was already seated at the table pulling a chair out for his friend.

"Sit here, stupid head" House smirked and Michael chuckled with his hand over his mouth just in case their mother was in earshot.

"Honey? Boys?" A deep male voice came from the front hallway and all three boys quickly straightened up and pushed themselves in on their chairs closer to the table as the sound of David Wilson's voice swept through the house. "I'm home" he announced as he slowly made his way into the dining room, dropping his briefcase on the floor.

"We're in here daddy!" The youngest Wilson called out as his father rounded the corner to the dining room.

"Hey kiddo" he smiled at his youngest. "Greg!" he exclaimed as he noticed House sitting with his back to him at their dining table. A firm hand landed on House's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "How are you? How's your mom?"

"Fine sir" House smiled. David Wilson was a kind man, and a respectable one about town. He had always been nothing but hospitable to House whenever he came around, knowing that the boy didn't have it quite as easy as the other families in their social circle and also being aware of the fact that House's home life wasn't quite the picture-perfect one that he prided himself on having. Sure they had their ups and downs; especially when it came to James' oldest brother David Jr. who no longer lived with them, but they had certainly been blessed financially and unlike House, had two parents who were home every night for dinner; something that David believed in very strongly.

"James" David's attention shifted to his middle son. "How was the first day back to school?" he asked as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"It was fine Dad" James nodded.

"Darling!" Mary Wilson beamed as she entered the dining room with a steaming serving dish in her oven-mitt covered hands. She placed the dish down on the table and bent down over her husband's shoulder to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. "How was your day?" she asked as she too took a seat at the table.

The family continued to make small talk during their meal, always sure to be polite enough to include House in on their conversations, as he was at this point more or less already considered part of the Wilson family. The two Wilson boys went on about their first day back to school; House mainly keeping quiet on that subject and preferring to continue shovelling food into his mouth instead as they discussed class schedules and new teachers. Mary shared her day with the family, telling them all about a new client she had landed; none of the three men at the table really caring about patterns and textures and whatever a _fung shui_ was, but always having the politeness to at least pretend to be listening while she talked about her passion.

About a half an hour later dinner was finished and Mary Wilson was already busying herself in the kitchen tidying up the dishes while the boys had been excused to go to their rooms. House looked at his watch as they stood up from the table and decided that unless he wanted to lose his motorcycle for the rest of the week he had better be getting home. He thanked the Wilsons for dinner, gave Mikey a high five and headed towards the door with James following behind him.

"Mikey, go get House's skateboard from my room" James directed and Michael quickly complied, tearing up the stairs like he was in a race.

"Here you go House!" Mikey exclaimed as he came fleeing down the stairs just as quickly as he had gone up them.

"Thanks little man" House nodded, offering the boy another high five.

"Welcome!" the boy grinned. It was no secret he had always been a fan of House. But what wasn't for the young boy to love? House often helped Michael in bending whatever rule could be bent without his parents finding out, such as zombie video games and candy before dinner. And as much as it annoyed James to no end, he always felt kind of bad for House being an only child; as he couldn't imagine how lonely his life would be without his brothers so for the most part, he let it slide.

"Night House" James said, opening the door for his friend.

"Peace out brotha" House smirked, causing the youngest Wilson boy to laugh again.

"Peace out House!" the small boy called out while waving at him frantically as House jumped on his skateboard and rolled down the driveway.

"Come on" James sighed as he closed the door and landed his palm on the top of his younger brother's head and gave his hair a light tousle. "If you finish your homework before Dad comes up to make you take your bath you'll have time to play more of your video game" James explained and Michael's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"_Not_ the zombie game" James immediately ammended and the boy offered a small pout.

"Will you play Wii baseball with me then Jimmy?" the boy lightly pleaded and James couldn't help but smile at him.

"Yeah Mikey, I'll play baseball with you. But you have to get your homework done quickly. Bring it to me when you're done and I'll check it over"

"Kay!" the boy exclaimed before hurrying back up the stairs again.

"And don't slam your" James began before a loud _SLAM_ nearly shook the entire house.

"Door" he sighed before making his way up the stairs to his own room.

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><p><em>AN: Awww isn't big brother Wilson just the cutest? Okay, maybe it's just me that thinks that… Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter as we got to know a little more about the Wilson clan. In this story I'm going to say that Wilson's 'savior complex' stems from being an older brother to Mikey. Because his older brother abandonded the family, Wilson felt obligated to be 'twice the brother' to make up for the loss to young Mikey. __Up next you'll learn all about House's family. So stay tuned! _

_PS – Reviews are love :)_


	5. This House Is Not a Home

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 5: This _House_ Is Not A Home**

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned the show I wouldn't need fanfiction...**

_A/N: Thanks for continuing to read my story and for the reviews and alerts! This next chapter will deal with House's family life. Some of which I have made up, and some of which is actual fact that we've been given from the show such as House's strained relationship with his father._

_There's also a little something for the 'Huddies' to enjoy ;)_

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><p>"Mom, I'm home" House announced loudly as he tossed his skateboard in the nearby closet and discarded his leather jacket onto the coat rack that stood next to the door.<p>

Unlike the Wilson household, their home was certainly more on the modest side of the spectrum. House's parents were not rich and successful like the Wilson's were but they did alright for themselves; always managed to support the family and keep food on the table and clothes on their backs. House's father, John House, was a pilot in the Marine Corps and was almost always on a tour somewhere which didn't bother House at all, he was more than happy to see his father leave for weeks or sometimes even months at a time. He was however thankful for his mother, Blythe. She was and had always been a stay-at-home mother, ensuring that Greg would have the love and attention of at least one parent at all times.

John had been raised in a military family, his father being a military man he knew all too well the life of an "army brat" as they called them. New country, school, and friends about every 6 months to a year as his father would get stationed at different military bases. He and his siblings always hated it, the constant moving around, never really knowing where 'home' was but as his father always told him, it was 'in their blood', he was born a military man and John always believed the same about himself, never imagining doing anything else with his life. Blythe however of course knew about the strain being an army brat had on John's childhood and it was certainly not something she ever wished on Gregory, which is why the family decided to buy a home in New Jersey and keep Greg rooted there; even if it meant a strain on their marriage, they would have to make due.

Fortunately for the House family, Blythe's parents were very well off in their later years; her father having invested much of his retirement fund into a few stocks that skyrocketed in the early 90s left them to live a very comfortable lifestyle for their remaining years. And if there was one thing the elderly House's loved more than the sunny skies of Florida, it was their only grandchild, Gregory. They made sure that he went to the best schools and had the best education possible; cost never being a factor for them. Without their help Greg would've never been able to afford the luxury of going to Princeton Day School and although very few people were privy to the behind the scenes workings of House's family life and financial situation, he had always felt like he didn't quite belong there. Maybe it was the fact that he drove an old beater motorcycle that he had spent a year fixing up to school instead of a brand new Mercedes like so many of the other kids, or maybe it was just the fact that his dad never missed an opportunity to remind him exactly "where he came from". Whatever it was, it only inspired House further to achieve something greater than his own father ever had. Sometimes it was all that could get him through the days to think to himself that one day he'll be able to look his father in the eyes and tell him he became twice the man his father ever was. That thought always left a smile lingering on his lips.

"Honey, where have you been?" His mother greeted him a short moment after he had entered the house. "Dinner was ready over an hour ago" Her tone wasn't one of anger; more curiosity if anything.

"Ah don't sweat it ma, I ate at Wilson's" he informed her and she nodded. It was no secret that House didn't exactly _get along_ with his father but it always remained the elephant in the room, no one spoke of it or even acknowledged it, especially his mother. Ignorance may not be bliss, but it was more tolerable than facing the facts and Mrs. House was hardly one for confrontation; especially when it came to the two men whom she loved more than anything.

"Boy where have you been? Your Mama made dinner for you ages ago" the low grumble of his father's voice was heard as he stepped into the hallway from the living room. His father was a tall, well built man now in his late 40's. He had the classic $12 military haircut and was dressed in his usual attire that he lounged around the house in; plain white t-shirt and ratty pair of black sweat pants that he's owned for as long as House could remember. John House was far from fancy; a simple man with simple taste.

"Mrs. Wilson asked me to stay for dinner over there so I..."

"What's a matter with you, don't know how a phone works?" his voice was stern and there was anger flaring up in his dark blue eyes. "You autta let your Mama know when you're not going to be coming home for dinner"

"Yeah I know Pop, I just forgot" House tried to explain, knowing he was in for it now.

"You forgot? Yeah how's about I forget where I put the keys to that damn motor scooter of yours? Now get outside and cut that damn grass like I asked ya to"

"But Pop its getting dark out now and I won't be able to..." House began but the look on his father's face told him he wouldn't hear of any excuses from him and even if he tried it would probably land him either grounded or at the very least with a slap across the back of his head and at least one hard hitting verbal blow. So with that in mind he shut his mouth, put his jacket back on and headed straight back out the door, lightly slamming it behind him.

House went into the shed in the backyard to retrieve the lawnmower; cursing and kicking at the wall when he came to the conclusion that it was out of gas. Without the keys to his bike he had no means of transportation and so armed with the gas canister firmly in his left hand he began the walk to the nearby gas station.

He returned home 20 minutes later with a half a can of gas and by the dim but better than nothing light of his cell phone began cutting the grass until it was finished; which took him a little over half an hour. All said and done House returned the lawnmower to the shed and re-entered his home, careful not to alert anyone of his presence this time in hopes to slip by his father unnoticed and go straight to his room.

Not bothering to shed his jacket or take off his shoes at the door in fear of having another run-in with his father, House quickly hurried up the staircase and went straight into his room. He let himself fall against the back of his bedroom door with a heavy sigh, closing his father out for the rest of the evening he hoped. He kicked off his shoes and tossed his jacket onto his bed before taking a seat at his desk where his laptop sat; a gift he had received from his grandparents on his 16th birthday.

He powered on the laptop and waited impatiently for it to start up, reaching over to the corner of his desk to grab an oversized red and grey tennis ball to play with while he waited.

A few short moments later the welcome screen displayed and House returned the ball to its rightful place back on the corner of his desk before opening his messenger service.

_**G-Man signed on**_ was displayed on the screen accompanied by a quiet chime while he waited for his friends list to load.

**_Friends Online (0)_**

House frowned at the alert but quickly pulled out his cell phone to send his best friend a text message.

'_Wilson, quit jerking off and get online. I'm bored'_ he typed quickly before hitting the send button.

He waited again, this time picking the ball up and throwing it in the air to keep him occupied while the time passed.

A minute or so passed when the chime was heard again and House smirked as the alert displayed on the screen:

_**Cupcake signed on**_

_**Cupcake Says:** Seriously House? You went through the trouble to hack into my computer and change my screen name and cupcake was the best you could come up with?_

_**G-Man Says:** Meh, ya win some, ya lose some. _

_**JimmyJames Says:** Well, guess what? You just lost._

_**G-Man Says:** You are seriously no fun. You couldn't just leave it for one day? It's not like you talk to anyone on here besides me._

_**JimmyJames Says:** Actually, Lis is online and just sent me a message saying 'what's up cupcake'. I draw the line at Lisa calling me cupcake._

_**G-Man Says:** Bitch must have me blocked... Put her on!_

_**JimmyJames Says:** ... Fine but be nice!_

_**JimmyJames invited PartyPants to the conversation**_

_**PartyPants Says:** James?_

_**JimmyJames Says:** Yeah Lis, I'm here._

_**G-Man Says:** Me too. Say, what are you wearing? You got a webcam? ;)_

_**PartyPants Says:** House don't be a perv!_

_**G-Man Says:** Who says I was talking to YOU!_

_**G-Man sent JimmyJames a nudge**_

_**JimmyJames Says**: ... :s_

_**PartyPants Says:** Hey, if this is a private party... I can leave :P_

_**G-Man Says:** Nah, Wilson likes an audience_

_**JimmyJames Says:** How do I always get dragged into the middle of these things? _

_**G-Man Says:** So, 'PartyPants' huh? ^-^ Daddy likey!_

_**PartyPants Says:** Don't worry, that's one party you will NEVER get into._

_**G-Man Says:** Words can hurt ya know :( _

_**JimmyJames Says:** Speaking of parties, House I told Lis about your party this weekend. Still on right?_

_**G-Man:** You betcha. Miss PartyPants can come, as long as she leaves those pants on my bedroom floor... ;)_

_**PartyPants Says:** The man wonders why I blocked him..._

_**G-Man Says:** She's playing hard to get_

_**JimmyJames Says:** Yeah, that must be it... _

_**G-Man Says:** You know she's not gonna come right? She's probably got a tree to plant, or a nursing home to visit or something equally exciting to do on a Saturday night..._

_**PartyPants Says:** I'm still here you know_

_**G-Man Says:** I know and I wish you weren't, I'm almost out of lotion over here..._

_**PartyPants Says:** House, stop being gross!_

_**JimmyJames Says:** You're a sick man House._

_**PartyPants Says:** James, don't think I don't know you're laughing over there!_

_**G-Man Says:** Busted._

_**JimmyJames Says:** I gotta start closing those blinds at night. Got a really creepy neighbour ;)_

_**G-Man Says:** Say Wilson, if you look into Cuddy's window and she's bending over do you get like a lunar eclipse thing happening?_

_**PartyPants Says:** Wouldn't you like to know_

_**G-Man Says**: You bet your giant ass I would!_

_**PartyPants Says:** Why is there no emoticon to slap someone? There should be._

_**JimmyJames Says:** Well as fun as watching the two of your flirt back and forth is, I'm going to go take a shower then go to bed See you guys tomorrow. Night._

_**JimmyJames signed off**_

_**G-Man Says:** Alone at last. So seriously, what are you wearing? ^-^_

_**PartyPants Says:** Goodnight House._

_**G-Man Says:** :( Night Cuddy._

_**PartyPants signed off**_

_**G-Man signed off**_

House looked over to his bedside clock and sighed. It seemed Wilson had the right idea, it was getting late and was probably time he took a shower before heading off to bed so he closed the lid to his laptop and headed toward the bathroom, making a brief stop at the linen closet to grab a fresh towel.

Twenty minutes later and a freshly cleaned Greg House was lying in bed with one hand tucked behind his bed as he stared at the ceiling in hopes of falling asleep. The television was on in the living room and he could hear it quite loudly, his father no doubt still getting used to the time zone changes would probably be up for a quite a while longer and had no regard for the fact that Greg needed to sleep because he had to get up early for school in the morning. House tried holding a pillow over his ears but he could still hear the background noise of the Jay Leno show accompanied by the loud and hearty laughter of his father that practically shook the whole foundation of the house when a particularly funny joke was told.

House tossed and turned for another half hour or so, finally getting the idea to put his iPod headphones in while he slept; figuring if he had to listen to something while trying to get to sleep it might as well be something of his own choosing. He ran through the list of artists and finally chose a mellowed out Radiohead album to hopefully lull him to sleep and it did in fact do the job; after about 4 songs in House had finally succumb to his sleepy state and his eyes closed for a final time that evening.

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><p><em>AN: Hey guys, hopefully you liked this chapter! I really do appreciate any feedback you have to give! As always, stay tuned for more!_


	6. TGIF

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 6: TGIF**

**DISCLAIMER: Hugh Laurie is the highest paid actor in the world and thus I can't afford him. So for now I'm only borrowing him for my own (and hopefully your) amusement.**

_A/N: Thank you to all my wonderful readers and reviewers! Sorry this update is a little late but it was a holiday long weekend here in Canada (happy birthday Canada!) and things got a little hectic. So without further adieu I give you chapter 6. Oh and happy 4th of July to the American readers ;)_

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><p>"You're sure you're going to be alright by yourself honey?" Blythe House asked her son for at least the 3rd time that early Friday morning and he nodded.<p>

"Mom, I'll be fine. You don't have to worry, I'm probably just gonna spend the weekend at Wilson's anyway" he lied through his teeth. He hated lying to his mother, would rather do it to his father but that would involve him speaking to his father; and that was something he wasn't terribly keen on.

"The boy will be fine" his father grunted as he picked up the last remaining suitcase in the front hallway; the rest of the car already packed up for their small weekend getaway.

"Okay" she smiled nervously as she patted her sons head. "The number where we're staying is on the fridge in case you need anything and if there's an emergency you call the Wilson's right?"

"Yes mom" he rolled his eyes. He had been given this speech 4 times already this week.

"Okay dear" she smiled as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Be good, I love you"

"Love you too mom" he told her sincerely.

"Blythe" his father warned as they were now running behind schedule, something he never approved of.

"Alright, alright" she huffed before giving House's hair one last tousle with her hand before turning away and heading out the front door to the car; his father remaining behind for a moment.

"I'll be fine pop" House assured him as his father stared at him.

"That's your mother's job to worry about you" his father snapped back. "What I want is this house still in one piece when we get back, do we have an understanding?"

"Yes"

"Yes what?"

"Yes sir" House muttered; having to hold back from rolling his eyes at his father.

"And clean up after yourself you hear me? I don't want your mama coming back to a pigsty to clean up"

"Yes sir" House nodded.

"Alright, now get on to school before you're late" his father commanded and House was all too quick to comply; slinging his backpack over his shoulder and grabbing his motorcycle helmet as he followed his father out the front door.

The family car began backing out of the driveway and his mother waved and blew kisses to her son as they pulled away from him and House flashed a forced smile towards his mother before shoving the helmet on and starting up the bike.

To say it had been a long week would be a complete understatement. House had to make sure he attended every class and didn't get into any kind of trouble what with his father being home the last thing he needed was another reason to get yelled at. He tried to stay out of his way most of the time, spending much of his after school time at Wilson's but to his father's insistence he had to be home for dinner every night. He wasn't sure why, it wasn't like dinner with the Wilson's. They didn't all sit around the table and talk about their days like a happy family; in fact his father rarely even sat at the table, he preferred his spot in front of the television instead. But when John House spoke, you listened, so House was home for dinner promptly at 5pm every night that week.

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><p>Chase slid his earbud headphones into his ears and put his iPod on shuffle before returning it to his pocket as he set out on his short walk to school. His first week hadn't gone by as badly as he thought it would; things had certainly began to get a little bit better after that initial shaky Monday morning. Foreman continued to hold out his end of his deal with Mr. Cuddy which was alright with Chase because it ensured him someone to eat lunch with everyday and if he was being honest, he had rather grown to like Foreman and even his friends; besides House of course. Not to mention the fact that Cameron joined them for lunch every day was just an added bonus.<p>

He had heard that House was throwing a party this weekend and although he had yet to be formally invited he was still hoping to be asked by Foreman to tag along. It was an assumed fact that Cameron would be there and even the thought of spending time with her outside of school was enough put a spring in his step all week. He couldn't stop thinking about her. House seemed to have little interest in her, he was more or less like a cat playing with a mouse on a string when it came to Cameron; seemed fun and exciting at times but after a few minutes he would become bored and walk away. Chase shook his head at the thought. _How could anyone not be crazy for a girl like that?_ He thought to himself. Cameron deserved better than to be fawning over a guy who couldn't be bothered to give her the time of day; that Chase was sure of and he planned on letting her know that on Saturday night if only she'd give him the chance.

Turning the corner to the next street Chase immediately dropped his head and put his hand to his forehead in an effort to avoid eye contact with the ever so bubbly Mrs. Alderman who was back at it again; Stewart of course in tow right beside her. She had stopped to admire a rose bush and Chase didn't miss the opportunity to rush past her as she had been looking the other way. He breathed a sigh of relief that he was able to get past her this morning without another 10 minute chat session like he had had nearly every other morning this week.

Satisfied with himself he turned up the volume on his headphones as a familiar song came on and before he knew it he unknowingly found himself bobbing his head to the beat and singing along loudly to the lyrics;

_Cause she's bittersweet, she knocks me off of my feet,  
>and I can't help myself, I don't want anyone else.<br>She's a mystery, she's too much for me,  
>but I keep coming back for more.<br>She's just the girl I'm lookin for _

Robert was so entranced in the song and the lyrics he was singing that he didn't even notice a figure coming up behind him until a hand landed on his shoulder and another gently pulled one earbud out from his ear and Cameron's voice gently whispered

"You… are such a dork"

She giggled before sliding the earbud back in and he stopped in his tracks; completely and utterly mortified. Had she heard exactly _what_ he was singing? Did she know it was her who had put the bounce in his step this morning? God he hoped not.

"I… uh… I was…" he stuttered and she laughed again.

"Yeah sorry but you're busted. You can't charm your way out of this one no matter how cute you think that accent of yours is" she smiled at him and despite his embarrassment, it caused him to smile in return.

"Fine" his hands raised in defeat. "You caught me. I guess I just felt like singing…"

"It's okay, it's kind of adorable" she told him, batting her long eye lashes and Chase swore his heart was going to stop then and there. "Just don't do it in the middle of the street when you're all alone anymore, cuz then it's just kinda weird" she smirked and he chuckled, nodding his head in agreement.

"Agreed. So…" he stopped to clear his throat then turned off his iPod and shoved it into his pocket; much preferring the sound of her voice over any song he could think of. "What are you doing this weekend?" he asked casually.

"You mean am I going House's party?"

"Yeah…" he frowned with embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'll be there. Are you going?"

"Yeah, of course"

'_you idiot'_ he immediately scolded himself. '_You're gonna look real cool now if you don't get invited!_'

"Great, so I'll see you there then?"

"You bet" he smiled.

'_Stop it!'_ his brain continued to scream at him but he couldn't help it. His brain didn't seem to function whenever he was looking at her.

They turned one last corner and were now trekking across the school grounds, making their way towards the front doors. Chase hurried up the steps to open the door for Cameron and she laughed lightly and shook her head at his chivalry but she'd be lying if she didn't admit she rather liked it.

"Thank you" she smiled sweetly at him as she walked through the front doors.

"So I'll… see ya later then? Lunch?" He asked hopefully.

"Yep see ya" she gave one last smile before the both headed in different directions to get to their lockers; a dumb smile playing on Chase's lips as he walked down the long hallway.

* * *

><p>Second period was about to begin and upon entering the classroom House hopped up onto the long two-person desk that he and Foreman shared; sliding across it on his backside until he was sitting on his half of the desk with his knees bent and feet planted on Foreman's side.<p>

"Can I help you with something?" Foreman scoffed as he tried to push House's feet off of his desk.

"Tell me about your new boy toy" House asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Foreman.

"Well he's single, you want his number? You guys would make a cute couple" Foreman immediately fired back and House pretended for half a second to be amused.

"I mean it, what's his story?"

Foreman shrugged; to be honest he didn't know a whole lot about him. "Just moved here back in August from Australia. Dad's some doctor and apparently wrote a pretty fat cheque to get him in here"

"I see" House tilted his head slightly as he took in the information.

"What?" Foreman was curious as to what House was upto now.

"What are the chances that rich Daddy has a rich liquor cabinet?" He asked, raising his eyebrows slightly and Foreman frowned.

"House…"

"What?" he immediately scoffed. "We can't very well have a party without any booze and with your brother gone to college now he's certainly not going to score it for us anymore. Wilson's too much of a boy scout to take anything from his dad and me… Well I think we both know my old man would probably come after me with a shot gun if I even thought about touching his beer"

"I don't know House" Foreman was hesitant as he let a deep sigh escape him.

"Tell him Cameron's gonna be at the party and the kid will do anything to get in the door. Guy follows her around like a lost puppy, it's pathetic"

"You jealous?" Foreman had to ask; genuine curiosity striking him.

"I don't _need_ to be jealous when it comes to Cameron" he reminded him and Foreman eventually nodded in agreement.

"Make it happen" House instructed before sliding off the desk and into the chair just as their teacher entered the room.

"Alright" Foreman reluctantly agreed; knowing House wouldn't let it go anyway so he might as well not bother arguing.

* * *

><p>An hour and 15 minutes later and the bell had rung again; biology class was over for the two boys and lunch hour was about to begin. They packed up their bags and headed out of the classroom, Foreman going to find Chase and House going to find Wilson just as they had been doing every day this week at this time..<p>

House strutted down the hallway making his way towards Wilson's classroom when he spotted Lisa Cuddy standing at her locker; fixing herself up in the mirror and being who he was, he never missed an opportunity to drive her crazy so he decided to make a quick stop in.

"Is it me, or do I get better and better looking every day?" He asked as he approached behind her and invaded her space in the mirror to check himself out.

"What do you want House?" she groaned, slamming the locker door shut.

"Still coming to my fiesta?" he asked casually, slumping back against a locker.

"Why, did all your other _FRIEND_ bail on you?" she asked; emphasizing the singular use of the word.

House put his hand over his heart and displayed a mocked pout on his face. "Ouch" he whined sarcastically.

She chuckled a little. Those stupid faces he made almost always made her laugh and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards as he watched her trying to hold back a laugh. He was just as quick to hide it though as he put his foot up against the locker and launched himself off of it, walking backwards away from her.

"Saturday night, I want you _and_ those party pants of yours there" he called out and winked at her and she shot him a dirty look before quickly turning around to hide the small smile that began to crack.

House swivelled around on his heel as Cuddy turned away from him and he continued on his way to find Wilson, nearly running right into him a moment later as he emerged from his classroom.

"Hey" he nodded at his friend.

"Hey"

"Buy me lunch?" House asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, come on" Wilson sighed lightly. He didn't really mind though, he was actually used to it. What would have been more surprising is if House had actually bought his own lunch or God forbid offered to pay for someone else's.

* * *

><p>Foreman and Chase headed towards their usual table in the cafeteria; food trays in hand as Foreman was reluctantly forced to hear all about Chase's morning walk to school with Cameron.<p>

"You have to get me into that party this weekend" Chase mentioned as the two boys set their cafeteria trays down on the table and took their seats across from each other and Foreman simply looked up at Chase with raised eyebrows.

"What do I have to do?" Chase continued to pester his; what he now assumed safe to refer to as; friend. "I'll do House's homework or something" he quickly bargained.

"Believe it or not," Foreman began before stopping to take a bite of his sandwich; "House is actually really smart. Doing his homework wouldn't be a favor for him because he'd more than likely get a higher mark doing it himself"

Chase scrunched up his face slightly as he took in that thought. Not to say he was surprised House was smart, he was just found it rather amusing that the guy was actually book smart as well as obviously 'street' smart. He didn't seem the type to care about grades or education in general but then again Chase figured there were probably many layers to Greg House that he, along with most everyone else except maybe his best friend Wilson, would ever see or know about. The guy had built himself up like Fort Knox; there was no getting in.

"Interesting" Chase mused; his brow furrowed as he tried to wrap his mind around who exactly Greg House was.

"Yeah, don't bother trying to figure House out" Foreman chuckled slightly. "Lost cause bro"

"Okay well isn't there something I could do?" Chase asked hopefully; his eyebrows raising when Foreman nodded slightly.

"There is" Foreman confirmed.

"Well?" Chase prodded impatiently. "What is it? I'll do anything"

"Supply the alcohol for the party and House might just dump Wilson for you as his new best friend" Foreman explained and Chase's shoulders slumped.

"How am I supposed to do that? I'm not old enough to-" he began but Foreman interrupted.

"If you want in, you'll figure it out. House doesn't care how you get things done, just so long as it gets done" he explained further and Chase furrowed his brow slightly in contemplation.

"Fine" he eventually agreed. "I'll figure it out"

"I'll text you the time and address tomorrow then" Foreman replied; rather impressed that it didn't take further manipulation to get Chase to agree. Apparently House had been right… _again_.

"Here comes Allie!" Chase lightly gasped as she caught his attention walking towards their table.

"I'll alert the media…" Foreman groaned in response.

Chase quickly shot Foreman a look that said 'lay off me' before quickly straightening himself up again as Cameron reached the table and sat down next to Foreman.

"Hi" Chase was all too quick to greet her as she sat down with her cafeteria tray.

"Hi" she smiled sweetly at him; Foreman rolled his eyes.

"Where's House? You guys seen him?" Cameron almost immediately wondered and Chase's shoulders slumped as his name left her lips; not going unnoticed by Foreman who had to hold back a small bout of laughter as he watched his defeated friend.

"He's probably got a sack full of adorable kittens to sacrifice or something" Chase mumbled; letting out a small chuckle at the end. It was pretty funny, he thought to himself. That is until he looked up from his plate to see Cameron staring daggers at him and Foreman shaking his head with his hand to his forehead.

"What?" Chase wondered aloud; unsure exactly what was so wrong about what he said. "Oh come on, that was funny. And House as a Satan worshipper can't be that far of a stretch" he tried to defend himself.

"Actually, it's not funny Chase" Cameron quickly scolded. Under any other circumstance Chase would've inwardly been dancing with joy that Cameron finally remembered his name but instead he just leaned back in his chair and swallowed the hard lump in his throat.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" he tried to explain himself but Cameron just huffed at him, stood up and walked away; politely excusing herself to Foreman saying she had somewhere else to be.

"What the hell was that?" Chase immediately asked Foreman. "I know she likes the guy but it was just a stupid joke"

"It's not about House" came Foreman's simple answer; which only confused Chase more.

"One thing you should know about Cameron" Foreman finally continued; "is she's kinda got a thing for animal rights. She volunteers at the Animal Shelter every weekend, even belongs to a small animal rights group here in town. She's got a big heart for pretty much all things living and if you want a sure fire way to piss her off just make a joke about animal cruelty. You're lucky she didn't kick your ass right here" Foreman shrugged.

"Damnit" Chase cursed loudly; quickly lowering his head as he noticed just how loudly he had yelled. "What should I do, go after her and apologize?" He asked; his voice much lower this time.

"No man" Foreman shook his head. "Cameron's not some delicate flower" he tried to explain. "She's not going to go sit in a bathroom stall and cry. She just needs to be pissed off for a while and if you go and start begging her for forgiveness you'll just piss her off more and she might just kick your ass anyway. Best bet is to leave her be for now"

Chase slumped in his chair; somewhat confused. He knew enough about girls to know that flowers and an at least half-hearted apology usually went a long way, but apparently not with Cameron. She wasn't like other girls but then again he knew that about her from the first moment he met her; it's what had attracted him to her in the first place. He had to figure out some way to make things right again, and he was bound-determined to do exactly that.

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><p><em>AN: Well that's it for today folks. You'll wanna stay tuned for the next chapter though as there will be an appearance from a certain someone you've all been asking about ;) I'll give you a hint "the bitch is back"._

_Song lyrics were from the song "Just The Girl" by The Click Five_

_Reviews are love :) not to mention they inspire my muse to write more ;)_


	7. Not So Lucky

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 7: Not So Lucky**

_A/N: Sorry for the delay but I am currently on vacation so not sure when exactly the next chapter will be coming... Anyway, here's a little update to tide you over until I get back!_

_PS - Ask and ye shall receive… _

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><p>"And why are we sitting out here?" Wilson wondered aloud to House as they sat on the cool steel bleachers outside the school building that looked over the football field.<p>

"Because" House began once he had finished chewing the first bite of his Ruben sandwich. "I have my _associate_ conducting a business deal for me in the cafeteria" he smirked and Wilson shook his head.

"Let me guess, you're trying to get the new kid to score you booze for your party tomorrow night" Wilson sighed.

"Its standard initiation" House defended.

"Yes, if I recall when we were 5 years old in JK I asked you if I could play blocks with you and you made me sneak you a juice box first when we weren't allowed to have them. Landed me in the principal's office on my first day of school"

House smirked as he recalled the memory of his first meeting with his now best friend. "I got you out of it didn't I?"

"Yeah, by convincing the principal that you had been choking and I saved your life by bringing you a drink" Wilson couldn't help but laugh as the memory flooded back.

"You got right on board with it and corroborated the whole story. I knew right then you'd be a loyal friend" House mentioned; wagging his index finger at Wilson and it wasn't long before both boys started laughing as they reminisced about all the crap they had pulled together throughout the years of their friendship; a long list indeed.

The light buzz of his cell phone pulled House away from his conversation with Wilson as he reached into his pocket to retrieve the device. Wilson looked on with curiosity as he couldn't quite figure out what the facial expression House was now displaying meant. Curiosity, confusion, worry? Whatever it was he couldn't put his finger on it. House quickly masked the emotion as per usual anyway as he shoved the phone back into his pocket and stood up from the bleachers.

"I have to go" he mentioned simply before jogging slowly down the bleachers.

"What? Where are you going? Who was that message from?" an intrigued Wilson called out after his friend who simply waved a hand at him as if to say it was nothing.

Wilson slumped back against the bleachers and shook his head before continuing on to eat his lunch. If House wanted him to know, he'd tell him. If he didn't, well, Wilson probably wouldn't figure it out anyway so why waste time and energy on trying he thought to himself.

* * *

><p>After re-entering the school House ducked into the nearly abandoned library and sought out the least occupied computer station; finding a corner in the back of the library that was for the most part deserted, save for one young man who had a pair of headphones on and too consumed in typing up an essay to even wander a glance in House's direction as he sat down at a computer at the end of the row.<p>

The sound of the operating system starting up made a loud chime and House cursed under his breath at whatever idiot had left the speakers on with the volume at full blast as he quickly powered them off. He waited a few more moments before the welcome screen greeted him and he typed in his school-given user name and password to log on.

Once the desktop was finally displayed House instantly moved the cursor to the bottom right hand corner of the screen and double clicked the small messenger icon; the same messenger he had on his home computer.

_**G-Man signed on **_was displayed on the screen. He waited a few more seconds; fingers drumming along side the desk as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure his privacy was still assured.

_**Friends Online (1)  
>Lucky13 is online<strong>_

He straightened up in his chair as the new alert greeted him and quickly brought his fingers to the keyboard.

**G-Man says:** _As requested m'lady, you have me all to yourself._

**Lucky13 says:** _And here I half expected Wilson to perched on your shoulder…_

**G-Man says:** _Oh ye of little faith…_

**Lucky13 says:** _More like oh ye of past experience. Anyway, thanks._

**G-Man says:** _Was starting to think we'd never hear from you. Thought I'd lost my star bass player and have to sit through another 40 auditions to find your replacement…_

**Lucky13:** As if y_ou could ever replace me. I'm one of a kind ;)_

**G-Man says:** _So, what's this about? Going to tell me all about your summer in… Where did you say you were again?_

**Lucky13 says:** _didn't. Nice try though House._

**G-Man says:** _I'll get it out of you eventually._

**Lucky13 says:** _Good luck with that._

**G-Man says: **_So, why contact me now? What's going on?_

**Lucky13 says:** _I'm back in town. Got in last night…_

**G-Man says:** _Just in time. Come over tomorrow night, I'm having a party. We'll celebrate your triumphant return._

**Lucky13 says:** _I'm not back, I'm just… here._

**G-Man says:** _Yeah, cuz that makes a lot of sense…_

**Lucky13 says:** _I'm not coming back to school. I just came back to pack up the rest of my room. My dad made arrangements for me to go live with a relative up state. I'm sorry House, I don't want to see anybody, the only reason I'm telling you is because you've been like a brother to me and I couldn't leave for good without saying goodbye to you._

**G-Man says:** _Wait a minute, what happened this summer? You up and disappear for over 2 months and now you come back to tell me you're leaving for good with no explanation? What gives? You didn't get drunk and accidentally run over a hitch-hiker did you? Because if you remember in the movie he comes back and kills them all anyway…_

**Lucky13 says**: _Funny. Look, I don't wanna talk about it._

**G-Man says:** _Seriously? That's it? That's all I get?_

**Lucky13 says:** _I'm sorry but_ _I have to go House. Goodbye._

**G-Man says:** _Hang on a second_

**Lucky13 has signed off.**

"Damnit" House cursed; fist slamming into the desk before he was quickly hushed by a nearby faculty member. He quickly powered off the computer and stepped away from the desk, lightly tossing the chair against it as he walked away.

"What happened to you this summer Thirteen?" he mumbled to himself as he swung the library door open and dissapeared into the hallway.

* * *

><p>"And what are you doing out here all by your lonesome?" Cameron asked with a small smile as she slowly made her way up the bleachers towards Wilson who gave her a small smile in return as he watched her approach.<p>

"House was with me and then… I don't know. He got a text and ran off" he shrugged as if he wasn't terribly surprised by his friends lack of willingness to share information.

"Sounds about right" Cameron shrugged; apparently not all that surprised either as she took a seat next to Wilson and pulled a turkey sandwich out of her school bag.

"So, should we draw straws?" Cameron spoke again after a few moments of silence and Wilson looked up at her utterly confused.

"For?" he wondered curiously.

"For who's going to babysit House tomorrow night when he gets drunk and sloppy" she smirked and Wilson let out a small laugh.

"Oh yes, ever the fun chore" he sighed. "We'll take shifts?" he smirked and she giggled.

"Deal" she nodded.

"So, will you be bringing anyone to the party?" Wilson asked curiously and Cameron furrowed her brow at him.

"Like a date?"

"Yes, like a date" he confirmed and she looked away, lightly shaking her head.

"Nope, just me"

"What about Chase?" Wilson asked; forgoing all subtleties.

"Chase?" she nearly scoffed as the name left her lips then quickly shook her head. "No"

"Why not? He obviously likes you" Wilson stated matter-of-factly.

"Come on Wilson, you know he's not my type" she tried to justify but Wilson wasn't buying it.

"Why not?"

"Because he's…" she began and then stopped; Wilson eyeing her to continue. "He's… Well he's not…"

"House?" Wilson interjected and Cameron glared back in his direction.

"I do _not_ have a thing for House" she quickly tried to defend herself but Wilson only rolled his eyes before giving her a look that told her he's not buying it.

"Seriously" she felt necessary to continue. "I am not interested in House. I find him interest_ing_" she contested; putting emphasis on the last syllable.

"Alright fine" Wilson sighed; raising his hands in defeat. "I would just hate to see you get hurt, you know? House isn't one of your abandoned puppies that you can take in and nurse back to health and will grow to love you. He's… Cujo" he finished bluntly and Cameron couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Cujo" she nodded in agreement. "Look Wilson, I appreciate you trying to protect me but I'm a big girl, and like I said, I'm not interested in House. We're friends, that's all"

"Okay" he reluctantly agreed.

"And what about you?" she quickly changed the subject and he looked at her rather confused.

"Thanks but Chase isn't really my type" he instantly deflected.

"Uh uh, you don't get out of this that easily" she giggled. "When are you going to let go of House's hand and get back out there?"

"I've been… out there" he tried defending himself.

"Please, you haven't seen anyone since Hannah broke up with you like last year" she reminded him and his shoulders slumped with defeat.

"I'm… taking some time off from dating" he replied lamely.

"Time off? Wilson, we're 18 and in high school, not 45 year old divorcees" she finished with a small giggle and he laughed.

"Okay fine. I will bring a girl to the party if you bring Chase" he told her and she raised her eyebrows in shock.

"You'll bring a girl if I bring Chase?" she felt she had to clarify and he nodded.

"Yep. Deal?"

"You're on. Oh and Wilson, your mom doesn't count"

Wilson immediately shook his head. "It's like having lunch with House without actually having lunch with House. When did you turn so cold?" he asked and she laughed.

"I'm serious though, if you back out I'm going to tell Chase that I actually brought him to be _your_ date" she smirked.

He smirked back at her; thankful she didn't go on to make further stipulations to their arrangement because he had absolutely no intention of telling her that he was already bringing Lisa and it was in no way a 'date' but they never specified that it had to be.

It was certainly no secret that Cameron had always had a small crush on House, since they were in second grade and House had pushed her off the swing one day she'd been following him around ever since. No doubt her mother had probably told her that when a boy bugs or teases you it means he secretly likes you; little did she know that nothing involving Gregory House is ever as it seems.

Still, it was harmless for the most part that Wilson could tell. A simple crush that he hoped she might be able to grow out of if she got involved with someone who could really appreciate her and after only a few days of knowing him even Stevie Wonder could see that Chase was crazy about her so Wilson took it upon himself to play matchmaker.

They finished their lunches and packed their things up before descending down the bleachers and heading back into the main building; Wilson hoping to have enough time left on his break to hopefully track down House. They parted ways once inside; each going to their own locker and promising to see each other tomorrow night at the party.

* * *

><p>Wilson turned the corner to the hallway of his locker and was slightly shocked at the sight of House leaning against his locker waiting for him.<p>

"There you are. Where did you run off to?" Wilson instantly wondered as he approached; taking his heavy book bag off his shoulder and letting it slump to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Got a text from the girls soccer team, they were having a wet t-shirt contest and needed a celebrity judge. Naturally they thought of me" he smirked, Wilson rolled his eyes.

"Of course, that's a completely logical explanation" Wilson deadpanned. "You're not going to tell me what's going on are you?" He asked; already knowing it was a rhetorical question.

"All in good time my friend, all in good time" House sighed, landing a strong hand on Wilson's shoulder. "Now what's say you and I go confiscate a tv from the A/V room and catch up on The L Word"

"You watch The L Word?" Wilson asked; rather amused by the thought.

"Yeah. On mute" House smirked and Wilson could only shake his head but followed after his friend nonetheless.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Have no fear, you haven't heard the last of Thirteen. You don't think House would let her get off that easy did you? Stay tuned for more! Reviews are love :)_


	8. You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 8:** You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello

_A/N: I'm so sorry I've been keeping you waiting so long! Was on vacation, then started a new job, just a totally crazy busy summer! Anyway, I'll try and keep the updates coming once a week from now on!_

* * *

><p>House watched the oversized clock above his fourth period teacher's desk as the second hand ticked on and on. If he didn't know better he could've sworn that time was actually going backward as he impatiently waited for the clock to strike three. Since his earlier conversation with Thirteen he hadn't been able to get her out of his head. He wanted to know what she was hiding and he was bound determined to do so; whether she wanted him to or not.<p>

Finally the school bell rang as the clock struck 3p.m. and House jumped out of his chair like an Olympic runner upon hearing a starter pistol. He made his way to his locker in a hurry and simply threw his books inside with no regard for organization as he grabbed his helmet and jacket and shut the locker just as quickly as he had opened it.

* * *

><p>At the opposite end of the hallway Cameron had just reached her locker and dropped her book bag to the floor with a loud sigh as she swung open the door. She was still angry with Chase and somehow in a twisted turn of events she offered herself up as a sacrificial lamb to him in order to get Wilson to try and be happy again. Putting others before herself was always a weakness of hers; all she ever wanted to do was make other people happy it seemed. She even put up with all of House's crap because she believed that having her in his life kept him grounded, at least a little bit. He was always up to something and she liked being able to be the voice in the back of his head; the tiny angel on his left shoulder as it were. God knows he didn't need another devil feeding him bad thoughts; he was quite capable of that on his own without any outside help.<p>

Now her problem remained; how was she supposed to get Chase to ask her out after what she had pulled in the cafeteria today. She briefly considered soliciting Foreman's help but quickly dismissed it. Once he got finished laughing at her he probably wouldn't be all that much help anyway she figured. She also considered showing up early and hoping that her and Chase would be there before Wilson showed up and she could just tell him that they came together but then realized knowing House that Wilson would more than likely be there at the crack of dawn anyway enlisted for help to get everything ready. The more she thought about it the fewer ideas she came up with until a voice from behind her quickly pulled her from her thoughts;

"Either there's something very interesting at the back of your locker or you've got something important on your mind" The voice of Lisa Cuddy began and Cameron gasped and put her hand to her chest as it startled her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you" Cuddy spoke again and Cameron flashed an embarrassed smile as she turned to face her.

"It's okay I was… on another planet, I think…"

"I can see that" Cuddy acknowledged with a small smile. "What's going on? Wanna talk about it?"

"Oh it's nothing" Cameron quickly evaded. "I was just…" she paused for a moment as she came up with something to say other than the real reason. "Trying to figure out what I'm going to wear to a party tomorrow" she replied lamely; inwardly mocking herself for how stupid that must have sounded.

"Oh, House's party?" Cuddy's voice instantly perked up and Cameron stared at her slightly shocked.

"Yeah… you're…? Are you going?" She asked; trying not to sound rude but rightfully surprised that Cuddy would attend such a function; especially one hosted by none other than her high school nemesis; Greg House.

"I am actually" she frowned. "I know, crazy right? I don't know why I let James talk me into it in the first place" she huffed and Cameron's eyebrows twitched upwards.

"Ja—" she stopped herself. "Wilson invited you to House's party?"

"Yeah, why?" Cuddy asked curiously.

"Like, on a date?" Cameron was genuinely curious. She knew her and Wilson were friends but she never thought that he liked her in that way; or even if he did that he'd ever get the courage to ask her out.

"Oh no nothing like that" Cuddy quickly dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Just as friends" she confirmed with a smile.

"Oh" Cameron nodded, although she was rather confused. Had James Wilson actually played her? Impressive, she thought to herself. Clearly he's been spending too much time with House.

"So, when did he ask you?" Cameron asked; trying not to sound too odd about it.

"Um, Monday? I guess" Cuddy eventually answered after she seemingly searched the back of her mind for a moment.

"Oh, okay well cool. I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then" Cameron smiled and Cuddy offered a smile in return.

"Okay, see you then" Cuddy offered a polite wave as she continued on down the hallway.

"Wilson you little… Ugh!" Cameron huffed as she closed her locker and made her way out of the school.

On the bright side she figured, at least now she wouldn't have to go grovelling for Chase's forgiveness. In fact the ball was now completely back in her court and that put a small but wicked smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Chase was standing at his locker mindlessly staring at the website displayed on his phone; so entranced that he didn't even notice as Foreman came up behind him until a warm hand landed on his shoulder causing him to jump slightly and nearly drop his phone in the process.<p>

"Is that what I think it is you creeper?" Foreman asked and Chase quickly shoved the phone into his pocket.

"A little warning next time? You scared the hell out of me" Chase grumbled.

"Tell me you weren't just lurking Cameron's facebook" Foreman asked while biting his lower lip to hold back a laugh.

"I wasn't… lurking. I was… curious" Chase defended and Foreman rolled his eyes.

"And tell me, what valuable insights did you get by reading Cameron's last status update that says…" Foreman paused as he pulled out his own phone and opened up his facebook application.

"Why is the vending machine always out of grape soda" he read aloud and raised an eyebrow at Chase who simply rolled his eyes and pushed the phone away from Foreman.

"Wait a minute" Foreman began again as he pulled the phone back up in front of himself. "You seriously 'liked' this status? You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet huh?" This time he didn't bother to hold back the small bout of laughter that followed and Chase grew more frustrated.

"You're not helping" Chase groaned.

"I'm sorry" Foreman eventually managed to get out. He cleared his throat in an attempt to stop his laughter and finally returned his phone to his pocket.

"And I'm not lurking her, I was just trying to find out where she'll be this weekend so I can pretend to just randomly bump into her, hopefully get a chance to talk to her"

"Yeah, that's not stalker-ish at all" Foreman smirked and Chase rolled his eyes.

"I don't even know why I'm talking about this with you. I've spent the last 5 days with you and the only girl I've seen that's spoke to you is Cameron"

"Well at least she's talking to _me_" Foreman quickly countered and Chase's head dropped slightly.

"Touche" he grumbled as he shut his locker door before slumping his back against it.

"So," he began again moments later. "What do I do?"

"Man I don't know" Foreman admitted with a small shrug. "Cameron's like a little sister to me, don't ask me how to get in her pants"

"Some help you are" Chase groaned.

"Never said I was…" Foreman shrugged again and Chase pushed himself off the locker and the two boys headed towards the staircase.

* * *

><p>House weaved effortlessly in and out of the heavy afternoon traffic on his motorcycle; leaving a number of irate motorists behind him shaking their fists and yelling obscenities at the seemingly careless teenager on the bike with no regard to traffic laws or common courtesies.<p>

Within minutes he found himself stopped at the long dirt driveway that led to the Hadley household, just on the outskirts of town. House pushed down the kick stand and slowly dismounted the bike; taking his helmet off as well and hanging it on one of the handlebars. He stood there for a moment simply staring at the house a few yards in front of him before beginning the walk up the driveway.

It was a large white house with a wrap-around porch and a back yard the size of a football field. Secluded away from most of the busyness of town and each neighbour lived nearly a mile from one another; _how very like Thirteen_, House thought to himself; secluded.

Once in front of the door House raised his hand to knock only to be slightly startled when the door suddenly swung open revealing Remy Hadley standing on the other side with a less than amused expression adorning her face.

"House" she sighed loudly.

"Thirteen" he mocked.

"What are you doing here?" she asked; apparently deciding to skip any and all pleasantries.

"I'm selling Girl Guide cookies" came his unhesitant reply; accompanied by a sly smirk.

Thirteen rolled her eyes. She was in no mood for games, and unfortunately with House, you usually got nothing but.

"What do you want House?" she asked; her patience clearly wearing thin already.

"You can't leave" he simply stated and she looked at him with wide eyes before folding her arms across her chest.

"And why not?" she asked with a heavy sigh; sure of herself the moment the words left her lips that she would regret asking.

"Because, I'm pregnant" he told her with a fake quiver of his bottom lip.

"Ugh. I don't have time for this House" she practically shouted as she went to slam the door but House's arm shot out and caught it just in time.

"Gee what's got your panties all up in a twist today?" he asked gruffly and she shook her head in her hands.

"What House? What do you want?" she practically yelled; finally finding her voice again.

"Just a hug" he told her meekly and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"A hug?" she thought it necessary to clarify.

"Don't be such a dummy. Just because I'm an ass doesn't mean I don't care about you. I'm gonna miss you, that's all. Wanted to say our goodbyes properly" he explained and she still looked on with uncertainty.

"Really? No twenty questions? No interrogations? No snooping around my private life to try and figure out my secrets?"

"Well I was considering asking Wilson's dad for a warrant to search the premises…" he smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"Would me finding anything out make any difference?" he finally asked sincerely and her shoulders fell slightly as her guard began to fall.

"No" she told him in a low whisper.

"Then I just want to say goodbye to my friend" he told her and a small smile crossed her lips.

"Goodbye House" she told him before bringing her arms around him and giving him a tight squeeze.

They released each other after a few seconds and House took a step backward back onto the driveway as Thirteen stepped back further inside the house.

"Goodbye Thirteen" he said with a slight nod before turning on his heel and heading back down the long and narrow driveway.

She watched him get on his bike and ride off down the street; his helmet and face shield concealing the sly grin that would have told her without a doubt that she hasn't seen the last of him…

* * *

><p><em>AN: Thanks for reading folks! More to come soon. Don't worry, you haven't heard the last of Thirteen. You didn't think House would let her get away that easy did you?  
>Stay tuned for the next chapter. The party gets under way and House's hatches a scheme to get the unknowing 'guest of honor' to the festivities; much to her dismay.<em>


	9. Capital Gain

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 9: Capital Gain**

* * *

><p>Saturday morning came all too early for House as he groaned into his pillow when he heard the incessant knocking coming from his front door that seemed to only get louder the longer it went on.<p>

"Go away" he managed to mumble before grabbing the pillow and slinging it over top of his head in an attempt to cover his ears. It was the weekend, his parents were away, House would be damned if he'd be getting out of bed before it was absolutely necessary.

The knocking continued. Harder. Louder.

"Noooo" House whined into the pillow; but the knocking continued.

"Alright fine, I'm up!" he practically shouted as he regrettably dragged himself out of the warm bed and made his way down the stairs and to the front door.

"This better be good" he grumbled as he swung the door open quickly; not entirely surprised to see Wilson standing on the other side.

"Hey" Wilson simply nodded as he pushed past House and stepped inside.

"Hey yourself" House sneered back before closing the door. "What the hell are you doing here? It's 7a.m. on a Saturday" he said sleepily while rubbing one eye with his palm.

"Well bonus points for getting the day of the week right House but it's actually 1:00 in the afternoon" Wilson returned and House simply raised a tired eyebrow at his friend as he collected the information.

"Yeah well all the same to me, it's still Saturday. So what are you doing here?"

"Well, just as I suspected…" Wilson began as he slowly made his way through the front hallway and into the main part of the house. "One night on your own and this place already looks like a warzone"

"Gee mom, I thought you weren't coming home until Sunday" House moaned before flopping himself down on the nearby sofa.

"You can't have people over when your house looks like this" Wilson reminded him but House just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Why's it matter? It's gonna look a hell of a lot worse than this by the time they're through with it" he mumbled as he flipped onto his side so he was now facing the back of the couch in an attempt to go back to sleep.

"And what about food?" Wilson decided to continue; not particularly caring if House was listening or not. "You can't have people drinking here all night and not have any food or they'll be throwing up all over the place"

"If I go buy some food will you shut up and leave me alone?" House asked hopefully.

"I'll tell ya what" Wilson began as he continued peering around the room. "You go to the store and get some food and I'll start cleaning up while you're gone. It'll be much easier with you not here so I won't have to follow you around with a garbage bag"

"A what bag?" House smirked as he rolled over to face his friend.

"They're this new thing; people put their trash in them, you know, rather than on the floor"

"Hmmm" House mused; tapping his index finger to his chin. "Well, ya learn something new every day huh Wilson?"

"Get your ass off the couch and go to the store" Wilson groaned as he peeled a piece of pizza crust off the floor. "God you're disgusting" he sighed.

House regrettably rolled himself off the sofa and slowly made his way up the stairs and back to his bedroom to get dressed. Once inside he thoroughly considered just locking the door and collapsing back into his bed but after quick consideration he realized he'd never be able to block out the noise Wilson would intentionally be making on the other side of it. So with a loud sigh he headed to his dresser and grabbed for some fresh clothes.

A few minutes later clad in his usual dark blue jeans and faded white t-shirt House made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where he found Wilson leaning over the sink; elbow high in dishwater.

"You're gonna make some lucky guy one hell of a wife one day Wilson" House teased as he entered the room. Wilson chose not to respond; just shook his head and carried on with his task.

"Well?" House spoke again and Wilson rolled his eyes before turning to face him.

"What?" He asked sharply.

House said nothing but simply held out his hand and raised his eyebrows.

"Are you serious?" Wilson groaned.

"You're the one that's making me feed these people. Where do you expect me to get the money from?"

Wilson simply sighed then dug into his back pocket for his wallet and handed House a couple of twenties.

"Thanks sweetheart" House teased as he turned and walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the front door.

"And I want change!" Wilson yelled after him; only to hear a door slam in return.

* * *

><p>A few short minutes later House parked his motorcycle in a familiar driveway and a sly smile crept up on his lips as he dismounted the bike and headed up towards the doorway and rang the bell.<p>

"House!" a surprised Cameron answered as she swung the door open. "What are you doing here?"

"What, a guy can't stop by to see his favourite girl?" House smirked and Cameron tried to hide the shy smile that was begging to come out. Luckily for her House had already taken it upon himself to let himself in and had just brushed past her as the small crack of a smile finally escaped her lips. She quickly masked it and cleared her throat as she turned around to follow him inside.

"So…" she began nervously as she watched House begin looking around.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" House questioned; eyes still peering around the large open space of Cameron's home.

"Visiting my Uncle Jack. He just had a baby" she finished with a sweet smile.

"Geez that musta hurt" House scrunched up his face and Cameron giggled slightly before slapping him on the shoulder.

"His wife" she clarified. "Just had a baby. A little girl" she smiled again.

"Mozeltov" House muttered; clearly not very interested in any more details as he intentionally made his way into the kitchen and began scrounging through the cupboards.

"Did you want me to make you something to eat?" Cameron asked warily.

"No, not hungry" he shrugged as he grabbed for random boxes and bags and started setting them on the counter.

"I can see that…" she replied hesitantly.

"Don't you have anything besides healthy food? I can't very well serve my party guests wheat thins and cereal bars" House groaned as he continued rummaging through the cupboards.

"Ah so that's why you're here" Cameron nodded and House gave her a look that said she should've known better.

"Well I certainly didn't stop by for a tea party" came his quick retort.

Cameron shook her head. She really should have guessed. "Just stop messing up the cupboards" she finally huffed. "You won't find anything you're looking for in there, come on" she told him then grabbed his hand and began leading him to the basement.

"God please tell me you have a torture chamber down here" House commented; wiggling his eyebrows at her as she continued dragging him down the stairs.

"If I did I'd be chaining you up and leaving you for dead so don't get any ideas" she fairly warned and surprisingly it was enough to shut him up. For now.

"My parents keep all the junk food in the cellar" Cameron continued as she made her way through the basement with House following closely behind. "They usually have a stash kept in here for when they throw parties" she explained and House nodded. She stopped in front of a large wooden door and swung it open. The lighting was dim but with just enough light coming from the rest of the basement House was able to see well enough to find what he was looking for. He first went straight for the wine rack but Cameron was quick to swat his hand away.

"You can't take any of that" she sharply warned him.

"Buzzkill" House groaned in response. "Fine" he eventually sighed; turning slightly to reach a different shelf and grabbing for a few bags of potato chips and pretzels.

"These will do" House told her and Cameron nodded and led him out of the cellar.

"So" House began again as they made their way back up the stairs. "What are you drinking tonight if not your parents wine stash?"

"Oh I'm not drinking" Cameron quickly waved the notion off.

"Seriously?" House whined. "What do you mean you're not drinking? Why go to a party if you're not going to have any fun?"

Cameron rolled her eyes at that but the more she thought about it the more she realized she really didn't like being the sober one all the time and having to babysit everyone; breaking up fights that Foreman provokes, helping Wilson search for his pants at three in the morning because a drunk Wilson seems to have a problem with wearing them, and keeping House from attempting to pull off crazy stunts like last year when he wanted to jump off Wilson's roof and into the pool.

"Screw it" she finally sighed. "Get me something fruity and girly"

"What flavour?" House asked; slightly surprised that she caved so easily; but happy nonetheless.

"Um… peach?" Cameron's voice perked up slightly.

"Sure" He nodded. "Give me ten bucks" he shrugged.

"Aren't the men supposed to buy the girl's drinks?" she giggled as she walked towards the hall closet to retrieve her purse.

"Only when we want to get into their pants. Wilson's been getting it backwards all this time" House smirked and Cameron let out a hearty laugh.

"I only have a twenty" Cameron sighed as she sifted through her wallet and House's eyes lit up slightly.

"Twenty, perfect" he grinned as he held out his hand.

"Ugh fine" she huffed before handing the bill over.

"Always a pleasure doing business with you" House nodded as he shoved the twenty into his pocket and the snacks into his backpack before heading to the front door and swinging it open.

"See ya tonight" he told her and she nodded.

"See ya" she smiled.

House headed down the driveway and pulled out his cell phone to send a quick text.

'_Foreman, tell Chase that I need some peach coolers'_ he quickly typed before hitting the send button.

'_Yeah OK'_ the response came a few moments later and House smirked as he took the twenty dollar bill Cameron gave him out of his pocket and added it to the other forty that Wilson had given him for food.

"Booyah" he smirked as he climbed onto the bike and closed his helmet face shield. Being sixty dollars richer than when he started out his day this morning he decided that all this conniving deserved him some lunch so he rode off to the nearest pizza parlour and enjoyed a slice and a soda; courtesy of Wilson and Cameron.

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><p>"Peach coolers too?" Chase huffed as he lightly tossed his cell phone onto his bed beside him. He had grown more and more nervous about his task he was given as the time of the party drew nearer. So far he had absolutely nothing. His father had a liquor cabinet, sure, but he wasn't certain that these party guests would be able to appreciate 15 year old scotch the way his father did and would probably be more satisfied with watered down beer that they could siphon through a hose and a funnel.<p>

He sat there pondering a plan for a few more minutes when suddenly he heard his phone buzzing from the bed. He reached for it to read the incoming text:

'_Still freaking out? I may have a solution, but it'll cost you. –Foreman"_

Chase's face lit up slightly. _"Whatever it takes" _he quickly responded then waited anxiously for another message from Foreman.

"_Ran into a friend of my brother's today. Said he'd hook us up, at a price. You give him a list, the cash, and thirty bucks for his trouble and it's a done deal"_

"Thirty bucks?" Chase groaned out loud. He pushed his chair across the floor and rolled up to his computer desk; quickly logging in to his online banking to see what his current financial situation was. Quickly adding up in his head how much all the drinks plus the extra thirty would cost him he figured he could swing it, it just meant dipping into his savings a little more than he'd like to. He sat there for a moment, then logged off of his bank website and his internet homepage popped up; his facebook page; and a smirk came across his lips as he read the latest posting.

**'_Allie Cameron updated her status: Who's ready to partyyyyyyy?'_**

He sighed before reaching for his phone one last time. _'Set it up. I'm in' _

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading! Up next, the party gets underway! Hope you'll leave a review before you go :)


	10. Let's Get It Started

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 10: Let's Get It Started**

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><p>It was well into Saturday evening now as the guests began to arrive. Foreman and Chase had been the first ones to get there under strict instructions from House as he told them he couldn't have people showing up and be expected to entertain them; that's what the alcohol was for. So with the refrigerator now fully stocked and devoid of pretty much anything that didn't come with a screw cap, the party was ready to get underway. A handful of House's lacrosse teammates were the next ones to arrive; already half in the bag before they even got there and two of them even carrying a keg between them. House smirked. He knew there was a reason he invited them.<p>

Foreman was busying himself with the stereo equipment House had him bring over; setting up the speakers and wheeling through playlists on his iPod trying to find one that House wouldn't immediately detest to. Once satisfied with a mix of just about every kind of music he had he set the device down and headed into the living room to join the others.

Wilson and Cuddy had arrived next; it took her longer than expected to get out of her house as she found it difficult to get by her father without him noticing. She had told him earlier that she wasn't feeling well and would be going to bed early in hopes that he wouldn't pop in her room to check on her. There was a John Wayne marathon on TV so she was pretty certain he wouldn't be moving from his favourite chair and if anything would likely fall asleep in it.

"Stop being so nervous" Wilson sighed as they reached the front door. "Your dad's probably already passed out in front of the TV and I told you whenever you want to go home, I'll take you. Right?"

"I know" she nodded slowly. "Thank you James, really. Why couldn't I have had a big brother instead of a big sister" she smiled sweetly at him as she wrapped her small hands around his bicep and leaned her head against his shoulder. It was at that exact moment when the front door swung open revealing House on the other side of it; an odd look upon his face as he stared at the two people in front of him in a situation that could easily be misread as something other than what it was; a gesture of friendship.

"Wilson" House finally piped up; giving his head a shake. "Glad you could make it. And hey, look at the cat you dragged in" he smirked at Cuddy who only glared in return. "Drinks are in the fridge, animal sacrifices in the backyard" he continued as he took a step back to let them enter into the house.

The music was causing the floors to vibrate under their feet and Wilson immediately went to the stereo system to turn it down a bit; worried of course about the police being called to shut down their party. House rolled his eyes but didn't contest any further. He knew Wilson was right and it was still at an adequate volume for people to enjoy.

Wilson nodded to House to make sure he was alright with it before turning in to the kitchen; letting Cuddy know he'd be back in a minute with drinks for them.

"Sorry guys, mom's home" House groaned towards the clustered group of lacrosse players on the couches. They chuckled before going back to their 'game' of who could do the longest keg stand. Clearly not at all concerned with the lower volume of music as they were making enough noise on their own.

"You wanna go next?" House wriggled his eyebrows at Cuddy who just stared blankly at him in response.

"Or not" House quickly shrugged. "Hey, I've got a cool party game though, you wanna try it?"

Cuddy perked up slightly; she had felt a little awkward ever since House had greeted them and just wanted to forget about it and focus on something else instead.

"What is it?" she asked with a hint of enthusiasm in her tone.

"It's called…" House began as he took a few steps closer to her until they were only inches apart. "Turn off all the lights and guess who's in my mouth. Wanna go first?"

"House!" Cuddy groaned as she lightly shoved him in the chest.

"What?" House asked with a slight chuckle. "Just trying to keep my guests entertained. And if memory serves me correctly…" he began but Cuddy quickly silenced him by raising a hand in front of his face.

"House, we were twelve" she reminded him.

"You're right" he nodded. "Besides, you weren't that good a kisser anyway" he shrugged before turning away; something more interesting apparently catching his eye.

Cuddy stood still; slightly taken aback for a moment, wondering if she should be offended or just brush it off as House being House and eventually went with the ladder and shook it off just as Wilson approached her with two cold bottles in hand.

"What was that about?" Wilson asked curiously as he handed the bottle of pink liquid to Cuddy and kept the beer for himself.

"Nothing" she shook her head then smiled as she accepted the drink. She briefly pondered to herself if House could _actually_ be jealous, but then remembered who she was dealing with and quickly waved off the notion.

A loud commotion came from the front of the house and Cuddy turned and smiled as she saw a cluster of her cheerleader friends come through the front door and make their way inside. One girl in particular screamed when she saw Cuddy and ran running towards her with her arms open and quickly pulled her into a hug. Wilson noticeably blushed as he became more or less surround by the pretty group of girls and being the gentleman he was quickly offered to get them all a drink as he took his leave back to the kitchen.

"Cameron" Wilson lightly gasped as he turned the corner to the kitchen to find Cameron leaning against the refrigerator door.

"I… didn't hear you come in" he continued; nodding towards the refrigerator so she politely stepped out of the way so he could open the door.

"Get you a drink?" Wilson asked as he peered inside without looking up at her.

"Why, feeling guilty about something?" she asked; arms folded across her chest.

"No…" Wilson said cautiously. "Why?"

"You tried to trick me into asking Chase out by leading me to believe that you were bringing a date" she huffed; finally getting Wilson to look up at her.

"Hey, I never said it was a date" Wilson said smugly. "I said I would bring a girl if you brought Chase. You never set any other rules"

"But you _knew_ I wouldn't have asked Chase otherwise"

"Asked Chase what?" another voice entered the room and both Cameron and Wilson jumped slightly as they looked across the room to see Chase leaning against the door frame to the kitchen.

"Chase" Cameron lightly gasped with her hand on her heart. "You scared me" she told him; her eyes studying his carefully, trying to figure out exactly how much, if any, of the conversation he had heard.

"Sorry" he frowned. "So, what wouldn't you have asked me?" he questioned again and Cameron inwardly sighed with relief; apparently he hadn't heard any more of their conversation and must have just gotten there.

"Uh…" Cameron began but then stopped; coming up with nothing to tell him.

"To get her these peach coolers" Wilson finally intervened after watching Cameron struggle long enough. "They're her favourite" he smiled; passing one of the chilled bottles to Cameron.

"Yeah" Cameron instantly perked up. "I love these but I didn't want to be an imposition" she replied lamely; hoping he'd buy their story.

"It was… no problem" Chase answered with a genuine smile. Wilson looked the other way and rolled his eyes. Cameron could probably set his house on fire and Chase would still manage to find it adorable of her.

"Here, let me" Chase mentioned as he held his hand out and signaled for her to pass him the bottle. She gave him a small smile and handed him the bottle to open.

Chase gripped the cap and twisted his hand as hard as he could but got nowhere. He sighed with frustration as Cameron lightly giggled in front of him. "Not a screw cap I guess…" he grumbled as he went back to trying to twist it off.

"I could look for a bottle opener…" Cameron mentioned after watching Chase struggle with the bottle for another minute or so; bound determined to get it open for her.

"No it's fine" Chase grunted; now using his t-shirt to protect his hand as he continued to twist. "I think I've almost got it…" he tried to sound confident but both Wilson and Cameron knew he was getting nowhere.

"You'll have to forgive him…" House's voice suddenly swept into the room as he rounded the corner into the kitchen behind chase. "In Australia the caps turn in the opposite direction" he mocked and Cameron let out a small laugh while Chase simply huffed and kept his tight grip on the bottle.

"Give me that" House groaned; watching Chase continue to struggle. He snatched it from Chase's grasp, pressed the edge of the cap against the corner of the kitchen counter top and made a fist with his right hand before bringing it down hard onto the top of the cap; the hard contact between his hand and the counter edge causing the cap to fly off onto the floor.

"M'lady" House politely nodded to Cameron as he handed her the bottle and her smile lit up the room.

"Wow, thank you" she beamed; notably impressed.

"No problem" he shrugged before reaching behind her and pulling open a drawer and quickly retrieving something.

"M'lady" he nodded again; this time looking at Chase as he extended his hand to pass him a bottle opener he had taken from the drawer. "Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself" he smirked at him before exiting the kitchen; Cameron following right behind him.

"Thanks for trying though, and thank you for the drink" she told Chase; giving him a patronizing pat on the shoulder before leaving the room to follow after House.

Chase heaved a frustrated sigh and let himself fall back against the kitchen wall before running a hand through his hair and Wilson looked on feeling rather bad for the kid.

"They're… just friends you know" Wilson eventually expressed; nodding his head towards where House and Cameron were standing in the other room.

Chase knew that Wilson was trying to be helpful but honestly it only made him feel worse. He couldn't even get her to be that much to him. They were more 'acquaintances' than anything. "Yeah, thanks" Chase grumbled and Wilson frowned.

"Drink?" he offered; handing a cold beer over to Chase.

"I don't really drink" Chase answered honestly; looking down at the bottle now in his hand, but then a laugh heard behind him caused him to turn around and he saw Cameron absolutely giddy over something House had said to her and her pack of cheerleading friends and she lightly smacked his arm but let her fingers linger on him for a few extra seconds.

"But, what could one beer hurt, right?" Chase shrugged, turning back to Wilson. He twisted the cap off and chugged the entire bottle down in a mere few seconds; stopping to wipe some excess dribble off his chin as Wilson looked on in slight surprise.

Chase finished the bottle and slammed it down on the counter; letting out a loud belch as he did so, then went straight to the refrigerator and swung open the door grabbing another bottle.

"Let's get this party started shall we?" he mumbled as he lightly pushed past Wilson and made his way through the other doorway of the kitchen and into living room.

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><p><em>AN: Well hopefully you are still enjoying this story. The next chapter is nearly finished as well so should be posting that one soon. What do you think is in store for each of them as their night goes on? What would you like to see happen? Want a little dose of huddy? Still waiting for some Chameron sparks? What kind of trouble would you like to see Wilson get into? And does anybody care about Foreman? Lol. Please be kind and leave a review before you leave :)_


	11. Sober, Party of One

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 11: Sober; Party of One.**

_A/N: Wow, thank you all so much for all of your reviews! They've really motivated me even further with this story! I took a lot of your suggestions into consideration and you will see many of them play out in the next chapter (ch 12). But first, a little filler chapter as House puts his plan into motion. Enjoy..._

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><p>House looked down at Cameron's lingering hand on his arm as she laughed about something only moderately funny that he had said and decided it was time he took his leave from her now before fun-although slightly over compensating-Cameron turned into drunk-and needy-Cameron. He wandered into the dining room where a handful of his lacrosse buddies were crowded around the table digging into the various snacks Wilson had so nicely left out for them in large plastic bowls. The paper plates and napkins had been all but forgotten about; just as House told Wilson they would; as the young men shovelled handfuls into their mouths; crumbs flying all over the place as they went. House didn't truly mind though, he was pretty sure Wilson would be there long after everyone had left with a vacuum in one hand and garbage bag in the other. He was a good friend that way.<p>

He looked at his watch and wondered how long he should wait before starting to get his plan to get Thirteen here underway. Deciding that it was at least late enough that he could begin phase one, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to send her a quick text.

"_heyyyy, just wanna say that I really am going to miss youuuuu"_ He quickly hit send and smirked as he waited for her reply.

"_okay House, on a scale of 1 to Charlie Sheen, just how wasted are you right now?"_ Her response quickly came and House grinned; phase one complete.

"What are you grinning about?" Wilson asked and House looked up to see his friend standing a few feet in front of him.

"Nothing" House quickly lied; shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"Aren't you going to drink at all?" Wilson asked curiously; it wasn't like House not to be drinking at his own party.

"Taking a breather" House lied again. Truthfully he hadn't had anything to drink yet. Didn't need his head to be foggy while trying to execute his plan to get Thirteen here. He needed to stay sharp if he was going to pull this off.

"Oh, alright…" Wilson answered cautiously. He wasn't exactly sure if House had some angle he was working here but he figured the less alcohol for House the better anyway; just meant one less person for him to take care of later, so he decided to let it go and carried on finishing his first drink.

"Here" House spoke up again and Wilson looked over to see him holding up a tray of small cups. "Have a jello shooter. I've already had about ten of them, can't handle anymore right now" he mentioned; holding out the tray of multi-coloured jello shots towards Wilson. For the next step in his plan he needed Wilson to get a little sloppy in order to let his guard down.

"God House, jello shooters? Do we not remember last time you gave me these?" he sighed, eyeing the tray and unintentionally licking his lower lip with anticipation.

"Actually I think half the school remembers the last time" House smirked, thinking back to the last big party they had had; Wilson somehow or other losing track of his pants halfway throughout the night and waking up underneath the dining room table a few hours later.

"So grape, lime, or strawberry? Pick your poison" House smirked; shoving the tray further towards Wilson.

Wilson contemplated deeply for a moment before grumbling "ah screw it" and reached for one of each color and quickly tossed them back.

"Atta boy" House smirked in approval. "Now don't eat all of those" he warned. "I still need to get Cuddy drunk enough to get into those party pants of hers" he joked; wiggling his eyebrows.

"Speaking of Cuddy…" House began again and turned away from Wilson just as Wilson had shot his arm out and grabbed a couple more of the small plastic cups off the tray before House could take them away. "Where is she?" he mumbled, taking the tray with him as he went in search of her.

He peered into the living room and saw no sign of her so went into the kitchen instead; still nothing. Not too sure where she could've gone to he wandered down the hallway next and still she was nowhere to be found.

"Well what the…" he grumbled aloud as he turned around and headed back towards the living room. Still carrying the tray of jello shots in his hand he entered the living room to find Chase upside down above the keg with a lacrosse player on each side of him holding up his legs while he performed the ritual 'keg-stand'.

"Go, go, go!" the boys all chanted and House rolled his eyes as he quickly made his way over to them.

"Alright guys, bring him down" House lightly demanded; putting his tray of jello down on the table then tugging Chase by his shirt and flipping him over until he was upright with his feet planted on the ground.

"Best. Party. Ever!" Chase yelled as he grabbed onto House's shoulders and gave him a good shake. House shook his head; he knew it was only going to be a matter of time before Chase would be forced to go sleep in the bathtub and Wilson would most likely be cleaning up his puke somewhere.

"Why don't you let me have this one" House piped up as Chase went to reach for his beer bottle resting on the coffee table. Luckily for House Chase's depth perception was quite a ways off by now so when he went to reach for it House was easily able to snatch it away first.

"Heyyyy" Chase slurred slightly.

"Chase, look!" House pointed to the other end of the room. "Pretty unsuspecting girls for you to hit on"

Chase swivelled around on his heel and nearly stumbled over as when he tried to plant his foot down; House quickly grabbing onto his shoulder to keep him upright. A huge grin came across Chase's face as he noticed three of Cameron's cheerleading friends standing in front of the television; two with plastic guitars slung around their necks and the other with a microphone as they played a game of Rock Band.

"Can I…?" Chase asked and House gently nudged him into their direction.

"Go forth and prosper my friend" House groaned; hoping that if Chase could be kept occupied for even a few minutes without drinking that he might be in slightly better shape than he is headed for right now.

House watched for a moment as Chase stumbled over to the group of girls and slung his arm around the singer's neck and immediately started belting the words along with her; although granted he didn't seem to know what most of them were, at least he was having fun trying.

"I love rock and roll! heh ne ne ne ne ne ne JUKEBOX BABY!" Chase rambled on and House rolled his eyes briefly but couldn't help but stifle a small laugh. The kid was such a cheap drunk.

Focussing back to what he set out to do House picked up the tray of shooters quickly before the lacrosse team had a chance to finish them all and he opened the sliding patio door to see what was happening elsewhere. There was two guys play fighting on the grass, another one making a terrible attempt at trying to climb a tree, a fourth apparently trying to skateboard across the lawn and failing terribly and House just looked on in astonishment. Now he understood why he was never the sober person at parties; people were flat-out idiots. He couldn't imagine how Cameron put up with all this crap all the time. He turned back around to head inside but something on the far side of the deck had caught his eye; it was Cuddy. She was sitting in the patio swing fidgeting nervously with the drink in her hand while a young guy in a letterman jacket scooted down a little closer to her and rested his arm behind her on the back of the swing.

House looked on for a moment just watching them.

"What've you got there?" the guy had asked her as he ran his finger down the neck of the bottle; purposely making sure his finger brushed against hers. House wasn't exactly sure who the kid was but he knew he had seen him around a few times and the jacket told him that he was on the football team.

"I don't know what it's called actually" Cuddy laughed slightly as she picked at the label of her bottle.

"Well, what's it taste like?" He asked; scooting a little closer to her and Cuddy instinctively moved just slightly in the opposite direction of him; obviously a little uncomfortable with his closeness.

"It um… tastes like pink" she giggled as she swished the pink liquid around in the bottle.

"Oh yeah? And what does pink taste like?" He asked and House found himself unconsciously rolling his eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me" House grumbled under his breath but looked on anyway.

"Do you want to try it?" Cuddy asked, perking up slightly and pushing the bottle in the boy's direction.

"Yeah" he simply grinned before pushing Cuddy's hand away then gently cupping her chin and leaning in towards her.

"Oh, um…" Cuddy nervously giggled; immediately pulling away from the boy's touch.

"What's wrong?" he asked; his hand now retreating to her leg and resting a little too far above her knee for House's liking so he quickly made his way over to the two lovebirds.

"Hey guys, having fun?" House began as he slumped down onto the swing, managing to wedge himself between them so they were forced to part.

"By all means, sit" the boy grumbled under his breath and House smirked.

"House, you know Derek right?" Cuddy asked and House nodded slightly. "Of course, glad you could make it Darren"

"Derek" the boy quickly corrected and Cuddy had to bite back a small laugh.

"Right, that's what I said. Now, be a good man and get us a round of drinks, would ya Darryl?"

"Whatever man" the aggravated young man huffed before pushing himself off of the swing and heading back inside the house.

"He seems nice" House teased as he turned back to look at Cuddy who was shaking her head but still held a small smile on her lips that didn't go unnoticed by House.

"Gotcha something" he smirked as he held out the tray of colourful shots towards her.

"Flower shop closed?" she asked in return as she reached for one of the purple cups.

"No, condom shop" House immediately retorted and Cuddy slapped his shoulder before throwing back her shot.

"Here, you've gotta try the red and green ones too" House stated as he put two more of the cups in front of her and Cuddy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Now why would I want to do that?" House grunted towards her before pushing himself up off the swing and heading off back inside; not even so much as a goodbye wave towards Cuddy.

She watched him walk away and then shook her head. It was the same old House; pretend to be a nice and somewhat normal human being one minute; then back to his snarky self only seconds later. She wondered how anyone could put up with him. How he managed to keep a guy like Wilson as his best friend all these years really baffled her.

House wandered back inside; depositing the tray of jello shots on the dining room table as he looked around the open space to see what everyone was up to. Chase was still yelling random words into the microphone with the same three girls that he was with earlier, Foreman was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table with one of the lacrosse guys across from him as they engaged in an arm wrestle while a crowd of guys encircled them and began chanting and stomping their feet on the floor and Wilson was standing in the middle of the room chatting with Cameron.

House noticed Wilson and decided that it was time to get phase two in motion but he'd need to get Wilson away from Cameron in case she ruined anything. He walked towards them and gave them a moment to finish their conversation before stepping between them and facing Cameron.

"Sorry, get your own best friend. He's on my time now" House told her and she rolled her eyes.

"Wilson, I need you" House mentioned; nodding his head for Wilson to follow him to the kitchen. "Cameron, stay here and make sure your boyfriend doesn't do anything stupid" House warned looking over to Chase before pushing Cameron down onto the sofa behind him.

"Chase" House yelled over the sound of his obnoxious singing and placed his hand firmly on his shoulder. "Your groupie is here" he told him, nodding his head towards Cameron seated behind them. Chase looked less than impressed to see Cameron but House couldn't be bothered to care so with that he left them alone and headed for the kitchen with Wilson following behind him.

Chase stared at Cameron for a few awkward moments until Cameron finally stifled a small smile towards him but Chase could tell it was a forced smile and he sneered at her slightly before spinning back around to face the television.

"I'm picking this time!" he announced loudly as the last song came to an end and the selection screen came up. He snatched the controller out of the girls hand and began scrolling through the playlist until he found what he believed to be the perfect song. And this time, he was going to remember the words.

The music started and Chase took the microphone from the girls hand and started bouncing back and forth from foot to foot, singing along with the chorus and then swung around to face Cameron just as he got into the first verse.

_We go to all the same parties and you don't know my name,  
>It's probly cuz I never won the damn football game, but I'm honest yeah, you gotta put me on this yeah.<br>I try to tell you whatcha wanna hear but I'm wrong, I probably won't amount to much but this song,  
>They're saying that you're out of my league, but what's a little white lie to me.<em>

_I don't smoke girl (oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ohhhh oh)  
>But you're dope girl (oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ohhhh oh)<br>I don't drink babe (oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ohhhh oh)  
>But you're Tanqueray, ye-eahhh, ye-eahhh.<em>

Cameron just watched in slight shock as Chase practically growled the lyrics at her; his foot up on the table in front of the sofa and him leaning right down towards her only a few feet from her face. She felt like everyone was staring at her and unsure of what to do she simply reached for her drink and chugged it back as quickly as she could.

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><p>Over in the kitchen House was feeding Wilson more of the delicious jello shooters and fortunately for House, Wilson was already far too gone to argue so he simply took them with a grin and threw them back; one after another until the tray was near empty.<p>

"You know…" Wilson began; one eye wide open, the other tightly closed as he swayed slightly in his stance. "You're my besssst friend" he slurred as he placed his hand on House's shoulder. "And… I mean that. I'm not jusssssst sayin that. You know?"

"Mmhmm, great" House quickly obliged him before taking Wilson's hand off his shoulder and dropping it back down to his side. "Say, best friend…" House began; raising his eyebrows slightly. "Think I could use your cell phone for a minute mine uh… battery died"

"Sure" Wilson shrugged, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He extended it towards House but then quickly pulled it back just as House went to reach for it. House rolled his eyes; completely unamused.

"Heyyyy wait a sssecond" Wilson began; pointing his finger at House and attempting to poke his chest but missing entirely and just poking at the air instead. "You're not gonna…" he stopped to hiccup. "not gonna call Hannah are you?" he asked and House rolled his eyes. God he hoped he didn't always sound this stupid when he was drunk.

"Now why would _I_ call _your_ ex-girlfriend, genius?" House grumbled and Wilson seemed to stop and genuinely contemplate that thought.

"Right… I would call her, right? You thinnnnk I should call her?" Wilson asked; now clutching the phone against his chest and House was quickly losing his patience.

"What? No! Nobody is calling Hannah, now give me that damn phone" House barked as he snatched the phone out of Wilson's grasp. "Now why don't you go outside and get some air, you look like you need some. Cuddy's out there" He nodded towards the back patio door and Wilson opened his mouth to respond but apparently forgot what he was going to argue so just shook his head instead and shuffled out of the kitchen and headed towards the back yard.

"God I need a drink" House mumbled as he ran his hand over his face. Reaching for his own phone in his pocket House pulled it out and scrolled through his contacts to find Thirteen's number. Once he found it he quickly typed it into Wilson's phone and typed up a message.

'_Hey it's Wilson. Listen, I know I probably shouldn't be bothering you with this but I don't know what else to do… House is drunk out of his mind and won't stop rambling on about you. I can't get him to stop drinking, he says he won't put the bottle down until he sees you and he keeps trying to leave the house but he obviously can't go anywhere in this condition. None of us are sober enough to drive and I'm worried that if he drinks much more the next ride we're going to be taking is in an ambulance…'_

House hit the send button then leaned up against the wall; waiting for a reply which he was quite certain would be coming any second. Sure, it was a little mean what he was doing but there was no real harm being done so he didn't feel guilty about it. The new message chime was heard and he grinned as he looked down and read what it said…

'_Ugh HOUSE. Sit tight Wilson, I'm on my way! And see if you can get him to wait out front for me, I don't want to go inside'_

"Phase two complete" House announced aloud, then turned on the "airplane mode" feature on Wilson's phone before returning it so that Wilson wouldn't be able to send or receive any calls or texts. He glanced out the back patio door and upon witnessing Wilson attempt to break dance on the patio he was pretty certain that Wilson was drunk enough not to notice the change made to his phone anyway.

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><p><em>AN: Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Still lots more of the party to come in the next one! Well, many of you have told me you want more Huddy so, ask ye shall receive! The next chapter will be one you don't want to miss ;) I'll try and get it up some time in the next week :) Please be kind and leave me a quick note before you leave :)_

_PS- Lyrics were from the song "She's Dope" by Down With Webster ;)  
><em>


	12. And The Btch Is Back

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 12: And The Bitch Is Back…**

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><p>House looked at his watch; nearly a half hour had gone by since he sent his 'urgent' message to Thirteen from Wilson's phone and she still hadn't shown up there yet. <em>'Had it been true I could be half dead by now'<em> he scoffed to himself. He threw back his second shot of scotch of the evening, figuring if he was going to pull one over on Thirteen he needs to at least appear that he's been drinking himself into oblivion and the smell of scotch on his breath was a good way to accomplish that he figured.

His eyes closed tightly and he let out a small groan as the liquor burned his throat on the way down.

"You alright?" he looked up to see Cuddy asking him and he forced a quick nod of his head while he coughed.

"Smooth…" his voice croaked and he cleared his throat before placing the glass back down on the table and giving his head a quick shake. Cuddy merely rolled her eyes at him. Of course he was fine.

"So," House began again once his composure was regained. "How's the new boy-toy?"

"Derek's not my…" she began but then stopped and eyed House curiously. "Wait, are you?… Gregory House, are you jealous?" she asked in genuine shock.

"Hmmm" House began; looking to the ceiling and tapping a finger to his chin in an overdramatic fashion. "Been there done that, remember?" he fired back at her after a few seconds of pretending to be amused by her question.

Cuddy scoffed at his arrogance. He really was an ass. "What is your problem with me tonight?" she asked with a flare of anger underlying her tone. She was sick of playing hot and cold with him and the alcohol she consumed just gave her the courage to finally speak up about it.

"I don't have a problem" he stated flatly with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well why are you being such a jerk?" she questioned further.

"What is that, a rhetorical question?" House answered with a scoff. "We've met before right? I think that pink crap you've been guzzling all night has had a serious effect on your brain"

"You're…" she started then stopped; searching her mind for the right word.

"Right?" he interjected with a smug smirk.

"An ass!" she huffed before spinning on her heel and storming away from him.

"Seriously House? What did you do now?" A voice asked and House turned around to see Wilson approaching behind him.

"Why do you automatically assume _I_ did anything?" he scoffed. "She's the one who's got her party pants all up in a twist"

Wilson opened his mouth to respond but just ended up laughing hysterically instead; apparently he was still pretty drunk and the words 'party pants' amused him greatly.

"You're useless" House groaned before pushing past Wilson and heading towards the back patio door. Thirteen would be here any minute he assumed and he needed to create a scene…

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><p>Cameron meanwhile sat alone on the sofa with a drink in her hand as the party continued going on around her. She was less than interested in joining in on the activities, all she wanted to do was sit there by herself and drink until she couldn't feel anything anymore. She watched the brief exchange between House and Cuddy from her seat on the sofa then turned back to see Chase with his each one of his arms slung around a different girl. Apparently he was feeling pretty good by this point and had all but forgotten about her; which if she was being honest made her feel a little sad.<p>

Their eyes met briefly and Cameron twitched a corner of her mouth upward into a shy smile and Chase stared back at her for a few seconds before turning his attention back to one of the girls currently attached to him.

Cameron sighed. Wilson was right, Chase actually _did_ like her for her, and she had blown it.

'_Way to go Cameron'_ she inwardly chastised herself before taking another swig of her drink.

* * *

><p>Headlights approached the front of the household and the yellow and black taxi cab came to a halt at the end of the driveway as Thirteen quickly hopped out of the backseat and handed the driver a few bills.<p>

"Keep the change" she hollered out as she slammed the door and began looking around the front yard for anyone she recognized. There was a couple making out pressed up against a large tree on the front lawn and the boy nearly immediately stopped to take notice of the pretty young woman now making her way up the driveway; quickly garnering him a shove to the chest from the unimpressed girl in his arms.

"Hey, aren't you…" the boy went to speak but Thirteen quickly interrupted and held a hand up to silence him.

"No" was all she responded with before hurrying up the steps to the front door.

"Come on Wilson" she huffed before quickly pulling out her phone and punching in his phone number. She tapped her foot impatiently as her ears were met with nothing but the sound of empty rings. Where the hell was Wilson?

"Forget it" she huffed once more; throwing her hands up in the air before pulling open the front door and venturing inside; trying to keep as low of a profile as possible.

No such luck.

Almost the moment she entered the main area of the house she was spotted. Foreman was the first to notice her and didn't even let the initial shock wash over him before calling out her name, causing quite a few others to turn to her direction as well.

Confused glances were exchanged between many of them as they whispered back and forth to each other various rumours that they had heard about where she was the last three months and why she wasn't returning to school. Thirteen rolled her eyes. This is _exactly_ what she wanted to avoid.

Foreman made his way across the room and came to stand in front of her, gently touching her arm as he began to speak.

"What… what are you doing here? I didn't even know you were back" he stated in genuine confusion. Thirteen wondered how House could've been apparently going on and on about her all evening and still somehow no one knew about her not-so-triumphant return to Princeton. He must actually have kept his word and not told anyone; save for Wilson who, if she was being honest with herself, didn't expect much less. Of course he told Wilson, she was pretty sure neither one of them could even take a piss without the other one knowing about it. Not to mention the two of them were worse gossips than their cheerleading counter-parts. They were like a couple of old ladies at a hair salon. The last thought actually made her laugh a little and Foreman looked at her, further confused.

"What?" he asked and she shook her head as she realized she needed to focus here.

"I'm not… back. I'm just… I need to find House. Do you know where he is?" Foreman shrugged his shoulders as he looked around the room.

"Well where's Wilson then?" she huffed and he shrugged again.

"Thirteen?" Another shocked voice called her and she rolled her eyes as she turned to see just who was calling her now. It was Cameron; emerging from the kitchen with a fresh drink in her hand.

"Oh my god, what are you doing here?" she practically shrieked as she ran over and threw her arms around her old friend.

"I'm looking for House, have you…" she began to explain but apparently drunk Cameron could care less about the answer to her question and began on about her own problems.

"I'm so glad you're here, I could really use some girl talk. Foreman, go fight someone" she grumbled towards Foreman before quickly taking Thirteen by the hand and leading her over to the sofa and pushing her down.

"I really just need to…" Thirteen tried to get up but a wobbly Cameron came crashing down beside her on the sofa then quickly straightened herself out before placing her hands on Thirteen's shoulders and keeping her in place.

"So, there's this new boy…" Cameron began and Thirteen rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>House looked at his watch; almost midnight. She definitely should have been here by now. It was almost an hour ago that he texted her from Wilson's phone and here he was still sitting in the back yard surrounded by his lacrosse teammates as they continued to drink and trash talk each other. House really wish he was drunk right now. He thought these people were annoying before; apparently he hadn't seen anything yet.<p>

"Dudes, you know what would be awesome right now?" one of the young men spoke up and the others looked on.

"We should take the rest of the keg back to my house and go swimming. My parents will be asleep by now, it's totally cool" he went on to explain and House rolled his eyes at how idiotic that plan sounded. There was fifteen of them; rowdy, drunk, and carrying a keg. They wouldn't get five minutes down the street without getting busted. However, had he been even half as intoxicated as them he probably would've went for it too.

"Yeah, you guys have fun, I'm gonna stay here, keep an eye on things" House announced and the boys all stood up and offered quick 'goodbyes' or sharp slaps to the shoulder of their less than gracious host before heading up the yard to the gate and letting themselves out.

"Idiots" House mumbled under his breath. With the lacrosse team gone though it certainly did weed out most of the party go-ers; only a small handful of people remained, two of which House quickly noticed were Cuddy and Wilson who were sitting on the same swing Cuddy had been on earlier.

He couldn't make out what they were saying but whatever it was Wilson was laughing hysterically about it, which wasn't terribly surprising, but Cuddy seemed to be enjoying herself too and was also consumed in a fit of laughter; her hand resting on Wilson's shoulder as she tried to get control of herself again.

The site of the two of them made House a little angry. She had come here with Wilson, then spent half the night chatting it up with Captain Douchebag, and was now back to Wilson. Reliable ol' Wilson. Cuddy knew he'd be there for her at the end of the night if no one else was and that made House even more furious. Of course House had read absolutely everything between Cuddy and Wilson out of context, but he had no way of knowing that so he went about glaring at the two friends who were apparently onto a new, however just as funny, subject.

"Best friend got to your girl?" A voice asked and House raised an eyebrow quizzically as he turned around to see the source. He definitely recognized the young man in front of him from his economics class. Couldn't remember his name if his life depended on it because he had always simply referred to him as 'glasses'; for obvious reasons.

"She's not my girl" House simply explained and the boy shrugged his shoulders; apparently not very interested either way as he took another swig of his beer.

"House!" a voice called out and House inwardly cringed.

_'Shit'_ he cursed himself. That was definitely Thirteen, he could tell even with his back turned to her. _'Quick, act drunk'_ he told himself. He took a moment to think and then raised his head back to the eye level of the young man in front of him.

"Sorry about this" he stated flatly and the boy looked at him confused.

"About wha-" he began but was quickly silenced when House's fist connected with his cheek and he fell flat to the ground.

"About that" he whispered as he crouched over the crumpled body on the ground. "Just go along with it and there's a twenty in it for you"

"And stay down there!" House shouted triumphantly; raising his fists in the air and jumping up and down in true assanine-drunk person-fashion.

"House! What the hell are you doing?" He could hear her voice getting much closer now and he turned around to see Thirteen storming up behind him as Cuddy and Wilson looked on from the deck.

"Heyyyyy!" he shouted happily. "It's my favourite number! I knew you couldn't leave me" He snickered before throwing his arm around her neck and pulling her against him to keep himself upright. Luckily for him he has had enough experience being drunk that trying to soberly act like a drunk person wasn't that much of a stretch for him.

"C'mon, letssss get a drink!" he announced; intentionally slurring his words and leaning on her heavily.

"What? No, House, I'm not here to drink with you, I thought you were in trouble"

"I am in trouble" he half nodded; both eyes closed as he seemed to be taking a minute to collect his drunken thoughts. "In fact… at firssst I was afraid, I wassss petrified! Thinking somethin' bout you not by my ssside' he started loudly into the _some of _lyrics of 'I Will Survive' and Thirteen rolled her eyes.

"God you're hammered" she groaned. "And you wreak of scotch, what where you doing, bathing in it?" she asked and he simply gave her an ear to ear smile before his head dropped back down and she slightly stumbled to keep him upright.

"Ugh, come on" she groaned before tightening her grip on him; one hand wrapped around waist and the other holding him upright by his chest while one of his arms was still slung around her neck and the other hanging loosely at his side.

She trudged her way up the yard; dragging a mostly willing House along with her and she glared at Wilson and Cuddy as they passed the two.

"What the hell were you guys doing letting him get this bad? And how the hell did Cameron of all people let this happen?" she huffed towards her two former friends who just continued to stare at her in mild shock.

"I… we…" Wilson fumbled over his words but nothing definitive came out and Thirteen rolled her eyes before continuing on her way to get House inside.

"Forget it" she grumbled as they reached the patio door and headed inside.

"Heyyyy jello!" House announced happily as he spotted the tray on the coffee table in front of them and purposely took a stumble as he went to reach for it.

"Oh no you don't" Thirteen quickly scolded before pulling him back to her and securing her arms around him once more. "Come on, we're getting you to bed" she demanded as they continued on towards the staircase.

"Well this should be fun" she sighed as she looked up at the winding staircase then back to House who was just staring at her with a goofy grin on his face.

"You're pretty…" he smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"You're wasted. Come on, you're going to have to help me out here" She told him firmly and then began trekking up the stairway.

About a minute later and nearly all the energy taken out of her Thirteen had reached the top of the stairs with House still in tow. He was heavy when he was uncooperative and it had taken nearly every ounce of strength in her to get him to the top.

Once at the top she rested House against the wall and took a minute to catch her breath. Had she not been bent over inhaling every ounce of oxygen she could she would have noticed the tell-tale grin on House's face as he watched her struggle to catch her breath. Deciding that this was just a little too fun to give up just yet House let himself slide against the wall and nearly fell to the floor; and would have had Thirteen's reflexes not been so quick as she reached out and grabbed him to pull him upright.

"Okay, okay. Bed time" she commanded as she wrapped his arm around her neck again and led him to his bedroom.

"Uh oh…" House began as they entered his dimly lit room. "Wait till I tell Wilson I had a girl in my room" he snickered and Thirteen rolled her eyes before unlatching his arm from her and pushing him forcefully down onto his bed.

"Stay put" she directed as she took a seat at the end of the bed and started into her task of untying his shoes; a task that House was making anything but simple as he refused to keep his feet still.

"Will you knock it off please" she grumbled; trying to force his foot to stay still.

"Hey, if you wanted to get me into bed, all you had to do was ask you know" House stated with a snicker; causing Thirteen to glare at him.

"You know what, forget it, you're safe in bed now so just stay here" she huffed as she stood up to leave but House's hand quickly shot out to stop her.

"No wait!" he called out; gripping her wrist tightly and pulling her back down onto the foot of the bed. "Just, stay till I fall asssleeep. Mmmkay?" He asked as he nuzzled himself further into his pillow and Thirteen sighed.

_What could it hurt_; she told herself.

"What, do you want me to tell you a bed time story?" she mocked but House simply nodded into the pillow.

"Yeah" he told her through a long yawn. "Tell me the story of… Where you went this summer" he mumbled into the pillow as he closed his eyes.

Thirteen watched him as his breathing slowed slightly and she knew he was going to be out cold any second. "Fine" she eventually huffed. "I'll tell you, but only because I'm a hundred and ten percent certain that you probably won't remember any of what I tell you in the morning" she muttered fatefully.

Clearly she had forgotten just who exactly she was dealing with…

* * *

><p><em>AN: Okay here's the thing, I know last chapter I promised you some Huddy in this one, however as I was writing this it seemed to get rather long before I got to that part, so I PROMISE you will have Huddy sparks flying in the next chapter? Okay? Show some love and click that review button :)  
>Also, I'm going to leave this up to you guys to decide: do you want this to be pre or post "Foreteen"? It could go either way at the moment and I'm willing to write either... Most popular vote will be played out in the story :) Let me know what you want in your review! Stay tuned as always, more to come soon!<em>


	13. A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed

**When We Were Young**

**Chapter 13: A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed**

_A/N: This chapter got a little longer than most of the others, but I did promise you Huddy this chapter, and I keep my promises. Read on little ducklings :)_

* * *

><p>"Mmmkay" House mumbled sleepily into his pillow as Thirteen had reluctantly agreed to tell him the tale of her summer vacation. He made sure to slow his breathing to long and heavy breaths and as she looked down at him with his eyes close she was pretty certain he was either asleep or very close to it. With her mind slightly at ease now she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and started into her story.<p>

About ten minutes later an emotionally spent Thirteen wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek as she concluded the story. Her mother was very ill with an incurable disease and her father had finally come to the painful decision to move her into a facility upstate that could better care for her. Her father had rented a house only a few minutes from the facility for himself, Thirteen, and her older brother to stay in so that they would be able to visit every day without a hassle. She painfully admitted that after only a few days of watching her father fall apart in front of her eyes as he sat by her mother's bedside was too much for her to handle. The woman they saw every day was no longer her mother; but rather an empty shell of who she used to be. It terrified her and broke her at the same time. After the third day she couldn't bring herself to visit anymore and jumped on a bus for the hour long trip out of town to stay at her Aunt's house. Too coward to even admit it to her father, she left him a note instead, telling him that she missed her cousins and wanted to spend the summer with them. The truth was it was too painful; the way her father looked at her mother and her brother as well. Her brother is nine years older than her and was also diagnosed with the genetic disease six months ago. Thirteen knew that there was a 50/50 chance that she would inherit this disease as well and she couldn't bear the thought of having her father look at her with that same broken look. She figured all she had to do was lay low with her Aunt and cousins until she turned 19 and was free to do or go wherever she pleased and she could take care of herself. She couldn't risk putting her father through that a third time; the man was already at his breaking point and in about ten years she knew it would be happening all over again with her brother.

"And that's what happened to me this summer… " she concluded with a heavy sigh and a quiet sniffle. She had yet to tell anybody this and for whatever reason it made it easier to tell House; especially when he was passed out and unable to respond or judge her.

Or so she had thought…

She took a deep breath and then pushed herself off the end of his bed; ready to call it a night and head home when suddenly his voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"That's it?" he scoffed at her. Her eyebrow raised in suspicion as she slowly turned back around to face him and he was already sitting straight up in bed. "So you freaked out about your mother getting sick, you're human you know. And not to mention, still a kid! You shouldn't know how to deal with that yet. Hell, no one would know how to deal with it. Not even your old man"

She stared at him. Clearly, he was far from drunk. Fifteen minutes ago he couldn't stand up straight or even complete a sentence properly; but evidently it was all an act. She really should have known better. Her blood was boiling as she continued glaring at him. She was absolutely furious and yet when searching for something to say, or rather yell, at him she came up completely empty. He knew exactly what he was doing; he knew she needed to get it off her chest but being just as stubborn as he was he knew she wouldn't just give it up.

"You were screwing with me?" she practically growled at him.

"Hi, Greg House, pleased to meet you!" he mocked; extending his hand out to her.

"House!" she huffed in frustration as she put her hand to her forehead.

"Oh come on" House groaned, finally pushing himself off the bed completely to stand in front of her. "You and I both know you wanted to tell me, otherwise you never would have came here in the first place"

"I came here" she began in a low, angry tone; "because Wilson told me you were drunk out of your mind and needed help"

"And you actually bought that?" he scoffed. "You're a bigger moron than I thought"

"And you're a bigger _ass_ than I thought!" she quickly countered; folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay, can we skip the next thirty seconds where you actually think you're mad at me and get straight to the part where you tell me you needed this, you need your friends" he snapped back at her not in anger but more of frustration.

They were in a silent standoff. He stood only about a foot away from her with both hands on his hips and the look on his face begging her to try and tell him where he was wrong. She stood slightly slouched with her arms still folded across her chest and her enigmatic green pools glaring furiously at him. She wasn't about to give up either.

"Fine" he eventually huffed; throwing his hands up in defeat. "Go back to wherever the hell you've been hiding all this time and crawl back under the rock you've been living in. I'm not going to stand here and hold your hand, if you want to be an idiot than that's your decision. But just so you know, it's a pretty moronic one"

The harshness of his words left Thirteen temporarily frozen in shock. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, just stared at him with wide eyes as he turned around and simply walked away from her. He didn't storm out, didn't slam doors or throw and objects, he simply walked away calmly and still she stood perfectly still, only watching him as he walked out of her life. As big of an ass that he was she knew why he did it, but at the moment she didn't care.

He stopped at the top of the staircase and took one final glance at her and her eyes caught his. His stare was softer now; certainly not like it was only a few minutes ago and he held her gaze for a long few seconds before finally turning his head frontwards again and heading back down the staircase.

Thirteen sighed. Leaving these people was harder than she thought it would be, which is why she didn't want an emotional goodbye in the first place.

She took a moment to collect herself then slowly and quietly headed down the staircase; careful to make sure that no one else would see her leaving and try to stop her because she honestly couldn't take any more of that tonight. She knew House wouldn't sit there and beg her to stay, in fact, he did pretty much exactly what she had expected him to do which was tell her she was being an idiot but ultimately leave her to her own decision. Sure it wasn't the most _ideal_ approach, but it was the House approach.

She reached the front door without being seen and as her hand rested on the cold metal handle she took one last look back at the people she used to call her friends.

Cameron was still sitting on the same sofa as earlier still looking very upset. Wilson was at her side trying to comfort her. Thirteen couldn't hear what he was saying but knowing Wilson she was pretty sure she could figure it out. Even a drunk Wilson was still a caring one. Whatever he had said seemed to calm Cameron slightly and she nodded her head slowly before letting it fall against Wilson's shoulder and Wilson wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to console her.

A commotion was heard and Thirteen shifted her attention to the other side of the room where apparently a young man was less than impressed with Chase having his arm around who he claimed to be his girlfriend. Chase was so far gone that instead of apologizing to the boy he just ended up keeling over in a fit of laughter which only enraged the guy more. The boy went to lunge for Chase when Foreman stepped out of nowhere, grabbing the guy's arm and twisting it behind the back of his head and rendering him motionless. The boy yelled out in pain but Foreman's grip remained as he pushed him up against the nearest wall.

"First of all" Foreman began; practically growling in the kid's ear. "You might want to keep tabs on your girl before you start accusing other people of acting inappropriately. And secondly, you come near my boy here again and I'll make sure it's the last thing you do. Got it?"

The boy let out another sharp wince of pain before quickly nodding his head against the wall.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted and Foreman immediately released his hold.

The boy remained leaning against the wall for a few more seconds in an effort to catch his breath before finally pushing himself off and motioning for his girlfriend to follow him as he made his way for the front door.

Thirteen stepped back as the less than happy couple made their way to the front door; the girl muttering something about how they could use some friends that would stick up for them like that and the boy just offered a grunt in return as he was clearly still in pain. They brushed past Thirteen and headed out the front door; leaving only Cameron, Wilson, Cuddy, Chase, Foreman, House and of course Thirteen, still behind.

Thirteen bit her bottom lip as she took a moment to let everything that had happened this evening sink in. She knew House did what he did because he cared about her. She knew that her friends would have her back in a second if she needed it, just as they were doing now with Cameron and Chase. She knew she was lucky to have these people in her life, and just as House had said, she knew she was an idiot for believing her best option was to throw that all away.

So after taking a long deep breath she slowly made her way back into the main room of the house where her friends were all gathered. House was the first to notice her; giving her a small smile and a nod and she quickly offered one back.

"Hey guys" she spoke softly at first until she held all of their attention. "I'm back"

The reactions were mixed; Cameron sobbed out of what Thirteen could only assume was happiness. Cuddy shrieked in pure joy and ran up to hug her. Foreman smiled, which was a miracle in itself. And Wilson ran over, picked her up by her waist, and swung her around like a rag doll until she begged him to put her down.

"God you guys are all trashed" Thirteen sighed but let out a hint of laughter as she was clearly amused with their more than happy welcoming. "Who do you gotta screw to get a drink around here anyway?" she scoffed and glances were exchanged between Chase, Wilson, and Foreman before the three of them dashed for the kitchen; slamming into and tripping over each other in what appeared to be a circus act gone wrong.

Chase however was apparently the victorious one as he appeared a few seconds later at Thirteen's side with a fresh drink in hand.

"Robert Chase" he greeted her politely and she smiled.

"You're new" she commented and he nodded.

"You're hot" he immediately returned and it caught her slightly off guard.

"You're drunk" she eventually answered with a roll of her eyes.

"Touche" Chase sighed.

"Yeah didn't I cut you off hours ago?" House finally spoke up and Chase just started into another fit of laughter. Apparently he had found another source to supply him with alcohol.

"Oh hey, you know what I've always wanted to do" Chase began again; apparently ready to approach a new subject.

"What?" Foreman asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Play spin the bottle!" He announced excitedly but everyone only groaned in response; immediately dismissing the idea.

"What?" Chase moaned. "Whenever I watch a movie or TV show about American kids at parties they always play spin the bottle!" he continued arguing his point.

"Yeah, we do that when we're twelve, not seventeen" Foreman quickly answered and Chase let his shoulders slump in disappointment.

"Well what do we do now?" He huffed.

"Gee I've got an idea, you go HOME!" House quickly answered.

"Somebody's cranky" Cameron giggled and House rolled his eyes at her.

"Well Wilson woke me up early this morning, I didn't get my proper beauty rest. And besides, having to look after your drunk and belligerent asses all night is harder than you might realize" he finished and Cameron quickly shot him a glare.

"Okay, well maybe _YOU_ might realize" he quickly corrected.

"Well" Thirteen was the first to speak up. "I'm exhausted and going to take a cab home. Anyone who wants to split it with me is welcome to" she mentioned and Foreman nodded his head and followed after her towards the front door.

"So, see ya Monday?" House called out before she stepped outside and she turned back and offered him a small smile.

"See ya Monday House" she confirmed before stepping outside with Foreman closely behind her.

"Well, I don't live too far so I'll just walk" Chase shrugged as he looked around the room for the jacket he had discarded hours earlier. Spotting it hanging over the sofa he walked over to grab it and Cameron hurried after him.

"Um, Chase…" She said hesitantly tapping his shoulder. He grabbed his jacket and spun around to face her; unintentionally rolling his eyes as he did so.

"What?" he sighed.

"I was just wondering, do you think maybe you could walk me home?" she asked shyly. Chase wanted to laugh in her face, to tell her to get lost, to tell her to ask any one of the other ten guys that she spent more time with tonight than him but when he looked at her saddened eyes he knew he was sunk. He let out a deep sigh before lightly nodding his head.

"Yeah, I'll walk you home, come on" He motioned towards the door and Cameron nodded before leading the way; offering a quick good bye wave to the others still left behind.

"Alright Wilson, I guess we should…" Cuddy started to speak, then stopped as she realized Wilson was no longer standing behind her.

"Where the hell is Wilson?" She asked curiously; looking to House who stood beside her.

"Oh Great" House sighed as he turned to see the patio door opened slightly. "Drunk Wilson is worse than a toddler" he grunted. "Turn your back on him for one second and bam! He's gone"

He pulled the door open further and stepped out into the chilled night air and looked around the deck. He let out a small laugh at the site that caught his eye; Wilson draped over the patio swing lying flat on his stomach with one leg and arm hanging over the edge, the other leg extended through the space of the arm at one end of the swing and his other arm was bent above his head, his fist still clenching a beer bottle.

"I think your bodyguard is off duty now" House commented as Cuddy reached his side.

"Fantastic" Cuddy huffed; throwing her hands up in frustration.

"There's _lots_ of room in my bed ya know" House teased; nudging Cuddy with his elbow. "I'm a snuggler"

"Very funny House" she deadpanned. "I need to get home tonight, if my father wakes up and I'm not there he's going to kill me. And when he finds out I slept here, he is most definitely going to kill you"

"Good point" House nodded. "Come on" he sighed, heading towards the front gate and Cuddy reluctantly followed after him.

House came to a halt in the driveway when he reached his motorcycle and grabbed for his helmet and extended it towards Cuddy who just stared at him with her hands on her hips.

"Are you crazy?" she scoffed at him. "I am _not _getting on that thing with you! Especially considering you've been drinking!"

"No," he quickly countered. "_You've_ been drinking. I had one shot. _ONE._ And it was over an hour ago. Relax. You think I'd put the love of my life in danger?" He asked candidly and Cuddy's eyes shot wide open in shock. She was stunned. Speechless even. She had no idea how to respond to something like that and she wasn't even sure she'd heard him right; she must be more drunk than she thought…

"I wouldn't do that, would I baby?" House began speaking again and it snapped her out of her momentary daze. She looked down to see House kneeling in front of his motorcycle and softly running his hand over it in a petting motion and she immediately rolled her eyes. Of course he was talking about his damn bike.

"Whatever, let's just go" she huffed, reaching for the helmet in House's hand and shoving it on her head. House stood up and gave her his trademark smirk as she glared at him from underneath the helmet.

House climbed up onto the seat and Cuddy reluctantly followed. She gripped her hands tightly onto the sides of his leather jacket and he smirked and shook his head before taking her hands and pulling her closer until her arms wrapped around his abdomen and the rest of her body was pressed firmly against his back.

Without a word spoken House quickly sped off the driveway and into the street; the initial burst of speed making Cuddy jump slightly in her seat and she could feel House laughing at her through the vibrations in his back.

"Shut up" she grumbled before gripping him even tighter. She closed her eyes, hoping that it would be less scary this way.

A few short minutes later they arrived on Cuddy's street and she forced her eyes open and gave him a sharp pat on his shoulder. He nodded; knowing exactly what she wanted and pulled the bike over to the side of the road and turned off the ignition.

"Can't have Daddy waking up now can we?" House smirked as he put the kickstand on and dismounted the bike; gently pulling Cuddy off as well once he was able to.

She handed him his helmet and a muttered a quiet 'thank you' as House returned the helmet to rest on one of the handlebars. She began walking, or rather stumbling, the short distance to her home and was slightly surprised to see House following her.

"I know where I live you know" she sneered at him before turning up into a driveway. House chuckled softly then shot his arm out to grab her by the hand and pull her back to the sidewalk.

"Do you? Because last I checked it was 224, this is 234" he explained and Cuddy scrunched up her nose as she looked up at the house.

"Damnit" she sighed; rubbing her hand against her forehead.

"This way" House nodded before tugging on her hand and forcing her to follow him.

"Why are you being so nice to me now?" Cuddy asked curiously as she gripped her free hand around his bicep in an attempt to keep her stumbling frame upright. "Normally you would have left me there and ran home to tell Wilson about how I was so drunk I walked into the wrong house"

"Well that was before you so delicately reminded me of what your father would do to me if he found out that I got you into this state" he groaned.

"You did not _get me_ into this state" she snapped at him. "I'm a big girl you know, I can make my own…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just shut up already" House huffed. "Keep your voice down or we'll wake old man Cuddy up and we'll both be dead" he warned her and she reluctantly agreed as they began heading up her driveway.

"Wait here" House demanded as he left Cuddy standing in the driveway. He slowly approached the large bay window at the front of the house and saw Mr. Cuddy sleeping soundly in a large armchair in front of the television.

"Well, front door is out of the question" he whispered as he returned to Cuddy's side. "You're going to have to go through the back. Come on"

House motioned his head toward the side of the house and Cuddy nodded slightly before making her way towards the backyard; House following closely behind her. Her first step from the driveway onto the grass beside the house landed with a loud crunch of leaves under her feet and she gasped as the noise frightened her; which only turned into an uncontrollable fit of laughter as she felt so stupid for being afraid of leaves.

"Shut up" House warned in a harsh whisper. If her giggling kept up like that she'd not only wake her father but probably the whole damn neighbourhood too.

"I'm s-sorry…" she tried through more laughter. House was really starting to lose his patience with drunk people.

"Just keep going" he whispered as he placed his hands on her waist and gently urged her forward.

"That tickles!" she practically shrieked and her laughter got louder.

"For God's sake Cuddy, keep it down!" House warned; apparently a little too loudly as a light suddenly turned on in the Cuddy household, causing House to freeze in place.

"What was that?" Cuddy asked with apparently no regard to just how loud she was talking.

"Shhhh" House whispered, placing his finger to his lips. "Just be quiet"

"Kay" Cuddy nodded, trying her best to get her giggling under control, which wasn't an easy feat for someone as intoxicated as she was.

A click was heard, followed by a slow creak and House closed his eyes tightly as he knew the sound was of the front door being opened. He and Cuddy were now about halfway down the length of the house; luckily far enough that the light beaming from the porch wouldn't capture them and he hoped that once Mr. Cuddy saw no reason to look any further than the front yard that he would turn right back around and head back inside.

Cuddy gasped as she heard footsteps creaking on the front porch and her father grumbling under his breath. Her hand quickly covered her mouth but she still managed to find the situation funny and her laughter bout was starting all over again.

Completely stumped as to how to keep her quiet House did the only thing he could think of to shut her up. He grabbed her by her shoulders, pressed her against the side of the house, and kissed her. Hard.

The moment his lips connected with hers Cuddy felt a fire burning up inside her. Both her father and her laughter was all but forgotten about as she parted her lips allowing him to deepen the kiss. She gripped the lapels of his leather jacket and held on for dear life as his tongue swept inside her mouth and duelled with hers. The electrifying kiss was fuelled with so much passion it made her dizzy and her knees feel weak but she was quite certain it wasn't due to the alcohol she had consumed. She was drunk on something else entirely now. Gregory House was intoxicating.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Sorry folks but the Huddy train stops here for now. You know me, I'm a sucker for reviews, so be a pal and leave one for me? Up next, the aftermath of "the kiss" & more. Stay tuned!_


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